Electric Love
by The Gentlewoman
Summary: Can opposites attract? Meet Pen, an impulsive Piplup, and Sparkle, a mysterious Shinx. Follow them in their adventure from Route 201 all the way to Victory Road. Will they be able to heal the scars left by the past? Only time can tell. Current Location: Solaceon Town
1. Two New Friends

**Hello! This is my first story so please be a bit kind. I got this idea while playing Pokemon Platinum and then it grew into something more. Anyway, this will most likely be a series of stories since, well, I went a bit crazy with pairing my Pokemon together. I tried really hard to come up with backstories and personalities for all of my Pokemon (at least the ones I use often) and this one will chronicle each of their relationship from Route 201 all the way to Victory Road. (I be bad at descriptions TT~TT)**

**So anyway, here's Electric Love! :D **

* * *

"Nice to meet you sir. I called you earlier about the Pokémon?"

"Oh yes, right. Your name is…"

"Mel. Just call me Mel."

The professor examined the young soon-to-be trainer before him. She looked like an average fourteen year old. Clad in rough, blue jeans and a black long sleeve shirt. In her arms was a folded black sweater. She also had a black knitted beret with a single, pale flower on the side. Her face however stayed straight and serious.

"Are you excited about getting your first Pokémon?"

"Oh yes, very." She said with a small smile

_Oh good, she has emotions…_ The professor thought to himself

"Well then Miss, here is what you have to choose from."

The professor gestured over towards three balls. The young trainer looked at each one, not knowing of the contents.

"I think I'll choose this one." She said while lifting the ball to the far right

"Right then. Here are your balls and your Pokédex. You have your parent's permission to go, right?"

The trainer stayed silent and gave a small yet reassuring "Yes."

"Okay then."

The trainer placed the Pokéballs and Pokedex in her bag as she began to leave the lab. The professor just turned and went back to his research.

"Do try to keep in touch. I would like to hear about your travels."

"Will do sir and thank you."

The girl exited the lab and the professor waved goodbye from behind his desk.

* * *

As I exited my ball, I found myself facing my new partner. Her name? Mel, and I am her new friend and companion, Piplup. She decided to nickname me Pen, the reason is sort of obvious but I can't care to complain. It is small and simple to remember. After leaving Professor Rowans lab, I honestly don't know how I got there but I'm sort of glad I'm out now, Mel decided that we should go out and catch some new friends.

It was on Route 201 that we met our first new companions. Beah, the Bidoof, and Stan, the Starley. Again, I won't complain about the names but Mel has some room for improvement in the originality of them. It was then that Mel decided to camp out on the Sandgem Beach before heading out to the next route.

* * *

The sounds of the waves crashing on the beach reverberated throughout the tent and I couldn't sleep. I exited the tent to find that Stan and Beah have done the same.

"Evening" Stan said while barely turning my way.

"Hey. You buys couldn't sleep either?"

"Nah, the waves were keeping us up. It's just that we've never been outside of Route 201, right Ste... I mean _Stan_?"

Stan nodded in agreement then hopped off of the stone he was perched on. I waddled a bit closer to join them by the shore while looking back at the light blue tent I emerged from.

"Don't you guys think we should head back in?" I inquired

Stan thought about it for a bit then said "You're right. We wouldn't want to worry Mel. That and it's getting a bit chilly."

Beah, not really wanting to budge soon noticed that he was standing alone and turned to find Pen and Stan leaving him there like a statue.

"He-Hey! Wait up guys!"

We all entered the tent trying our hardest not to wake the sleeping trainer. Then once we all reached our respective balls, I bid everyone a goodnight and went to sleep.

* * *

The next morning I awoke in my ball awaiting Mel to release me. It happened, just as I expected but in a new setting. Mel released all three of us and told us how we were on our way to Route 202 but first we were going to visit the Pokemon Center. We agreed and entered with joy on our faces. Speaking of faces, Mel was then approached by that one guy, I wasn't sure what his name was, but he was the assistant of Rowan. As they were talking, we went in for a checkup.

"So, what do you think is on Route 202?"

"I don't know, but I hope there's some strong Pokemon to fight!" said Stan a bit too proudly.

"Do you think we'll get any new friends?" Beah said excitedly.

Tilting my head a bit I said "Well, at the rate Mel is catching Pokemon, I'm pretty sure."

Just as soon as the conversation had started, Mel came in to take us back with info on the next route. As we exited the Center, I thought of the journey's that will take place. I can't wait for it.

* * *

**So that's it. I know it's short but I need to keep time open for college applications and stuff like that. Anyway, I'm thinking up chapter 2 as I type so I hope these don't turn out too bland.**

**-.-**


	2. A New Addition

**Hey I'm back! So here's the next chapter which introduces our next character, Sparkle. So I decided that Pen and Sparkle will be the main characters and that my other Pokemon couples will be introduced here but will get their own stories. Seems like a lot of work but it sounds like a good way to relieve some stress, for me at least.**

**One thing I think I should explain, Stan has a "cocky" attitude, Beah is very relaxed but when it comes to battles he's very fierce. As for Pen, he can be intelligent at times but he gets excited often and is very… impulsive. (Which explains his later outburst)**

**So here's chapter two! :D**

* * *

We turned the corner to find Lucas, I learned his name from when Mel mentioned it earlier, standing in the tall grass. He offers to teach Mel how to catch a Pokemon even through Stan, Beah and I can clearly be seen. Mel graciously denies and Lucas reluctantly leaves. Mel returns us to our respective balls and proceeds to walk back and forth through the grass. Just then a wild Bidoof appears and she sends us out one by one to get some training done. After about ten battles or so, Mel comes across a new Pokemon. Recognizing it as an electric type, she sends out Beah. Mel can't take any chances now. From what I hear outside, it sounds like this one is taking a while to get captured. After a few minutes though, there was complete silence that was soon replaced by the cheers of Beah and Mel.

"Before I introduce you to the group, I should get you and Beah all healed up." Mel said with an overall happy tone.

While sitting in my ball I tried to think about what Mel caught. Definitely not another Biddof or Starely and I doubt you can find a Chimchar or a Turtwig in the wild. Now that I think about it, I don't really know that many Pokemon. All the more reason for me to get out and travel I guess. Judging by the sounds coming from outside, we were heading back out to the middle of Route 202. Mel looked out for any trainers then released Stan, Beah and I first.

"Okay guys. Are you all ready to meet our new friend? Well, I'm mainly aiming this towards you Pen and Stan." Mel said while eyeing us.

Just then she pulled out a normal Pokeball and threw it a couple of feet in the air. As the red flash reached the ground, we were face to face with our new teammate. They had somewhat of a light blue cowlick and their whole lower body was black, except for the hind paws. They had these electric yellow eyes and tail that could strike fear in your heart if it weren't so small. We three then gathered around the new Pokemon and made our introductions.

"It's nice to meet you all." said the Shinx in a kind and gentle manner.

"My name is Stan. I'm a Starley if you couldn't tell." Stan said a-matter-of-factly

"I'm Beah. That was a great battle we had! You're really tough for a…"

"It's nice to meet ya'! I'm Pen, a Piplup! It's so awesome to have an electric type now! So, now that you're a part of the team, what did Mel name ya'? Probably something tough and manly to contrast your cute lookn' exterior! I can tell that you're one awesome du…"

"… girl."

Just then I stopped in my tracks as I heard the "G" word. A girl? Just then, I felt a glare at my back and slowly turned to see our new companion eyeing me angrily.

"Wh-wh-what's th-the mat-ter?" I somehow was able to ask

But before the Shinx could speak, Mel picked her up.

"Hmmm… Your tail looks like a spark… How about Sparkle?! Do you like it?" Mel said with anticipation in her voice.

"Sparkle" looked at her for a few seconds then just smiled.

Mel grins as well and says "Then Sparkle it is! Let's get this show on the road!"

Then we were all placed in our balls but I was still confused.

* * *

-Later that night-

"Okay guys!" Mel said trying to get all of our attention "So today we got a lot of training done. I think everyone is around Lvl 10 or 12 so I think we're ready to go against the next gym."

Mel paused for a bit and looked at Beah and me. She pulled us aside then continued.

"Guys, I'm going to put in a special effort for you two so if Stan gets all antsy about not battling as often, could either of you explain it to him?"

At first Beah and I just looked at Mel then back to each other but in the end we nodded in agreement.

"Good. You know how Stan is about battles." Mel said with a slight smile.

As she walked off to finish cooking dinner, Stan and Sparkle walked up to discuss the pep talk we just received.

"So, what was that all about?" Stan starts, with slight irritation in his voice.

"Oh nothing" Beah said trying to calm him down "She was just giving us strategies and such for the next gym."

"Hmmm… I heard that the first gym has some kind of rock them" Sparkle pitched in.

Stan interjected just then saying "If that's so then why train Beah at all? No offense."

"Non taken. Maybe I learn a new move later on?" Beah began to wonder.

"Maybe she's trying to get you to evolve Beah?" said Sparkle excitedly.

"Don't you know what you evolve into?" I said a bit confused.

Beah though for a second then replied "No. I was raised by Bidoof like myself. Do you?"

"Now that I think about it, no I don't. I don't even know who or what my parents were actually."

A moment of silence flooded the group. I didn't like talking about my past. I guess that's because I couldn't really remember anything. All I know is that I come from a secluded lab in Sangem Town. Is there something I'm missing? Where is my family? Should I be out looking for them? Should I…

"Guys! Dinner is ready!" Mel then yelled out to us while waving a ladle.

I guess self-discovery with have to wait.

* * *

**Well, that's all for now. I know Sparkle didn't talk much but then again, she's new. It would take here a while to get comfortable around the guys. But I think it went alright for a second chapter. Oh and about Sparkles anger *points up* she may have a Gentle nature but I made her a bit like me. A bit short tempered when it comes to gender. After all, there are only slight differences between male and female Shinx.**

**(When I was in the 6th grade, I had very short hair and a flat chest so everyone thought I was a guy, despite my name, until one day I just yelled out that I was a girl. I got in trouble that day.)**


	3. Vs Barry

**Hey! Back with chapter 3! :D I know this is a quick update but I'm on an imagination roll, so to say.**

**So in the last chapter I brought up where Pokemon come from. (You know, the Pidgies and the Combees) I hope that I can expand on that later (if I remember)**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter.**

* * *

The next day was the same as the first. We beat a couple of kids and for some reason Mel won money out of it. At first she was confused but then she decided that she would need it for us latter on in our adventure. By 10 am we reached the end of Route 202 and found ourselves staring at the next town, Jubilife City.

"We made it guys!"

Then Mel returned us to our balls and ran straight in to find the town's Pokemon Center.

While Mel leaves us there to be healed, she said something about a giveaway.

"So what did you guys think about those trainers?" I asked trying to spark a conversation.

"That Burmy was pretty easy to beat if I do say so myself." Stan added a bit too conceited.

"It was just a Lvl 5 while you're a Lvl 14" Sparkle added dryly.

"Well I like how you took down that Starly, Sparkle!" Beah said in admiration.

"Don't, you embarrass me." Sparkle said slightly pink. "What about you? You were able to take down that Bidoof with only tackle!"

"Yeah man! That was amazing." I said while jumping "I wish I could find a strong Piplup to fight too."

"I doubt it though" interrupted Sparkle "I've never heard of a wild Piplup before."

"Now that I think about it," started Stan "how come you know a lot about things outside of Route 202 Sparkle? I barely know about Route 202 myself"

"Yeah, I was wondering that too." Beah added with slight concern "You seem to be very knowledgeable about even the first gym."

Sparkle looked at the others for a bit then suddenly looked away.

"Just coincidence I guess."

Sparkle eyes began to water slightly. I was about to walk over and ask her what was wrong when we were suddenly taken back by Mel.

"Hey guys! You know that giveaway I was told you about? Well, I got a free Poketch out of it. Sadly, girls only get pink ones." Mel said disappointed while pointing at her new watch.

Before the others went back into their balls I saw that Sparkle was still looking down in the dumps. I need to make her feel better. But how?

* * *

As Mel and I were about to leave Jubilife City, we ran into her good friend Barry. He said something about getting stronger and then before I knew it, we were in a battle.

"Hey! Mel! Tell me you got a little tougher! Me? Do you even need to ask? Of course I got tougher! Come on! Let's battle it out!" yelled Barry

Mel, trying to get away, replied "Look Barry, I just want to get to the first gym…"

"What?! Are you afraid of a little battle!?" Barry replied with a little taunt

Mel sighed and readjusted her glasses. She looked at me and then stared straight back at Barry.

"Get your balls out and let's battle."

**AN: I suggest listening to Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum - Rival Battle by PocketMonsterMusic in order to get in the mood for this battle.**

"Go Starly!"

"Come on out Sparkle!"

Barry sent out his Lvl. 5 Starly while Mel sent out Sparkle, her Lvl. 13 Shinx.

"Sparkle, use Spark!"

As Sparkle was charging her attack she was hit with Starly's Quick Attack.

"Arg! Sparkle, are you okay?"

Instead of answering, Sparkle got back up and hit Starly with a super effective Spark attack.

"Don't get cocky, kid! This isn't over yet!" shouted Barry while stomping on the ground.

"Yeah yeah, I don't stand a chance. Shinx, use Spark one more time!"

This time, Spark hit first causing Barry's Starly to faint.

"Grr! What about my Turtwig?!"

Before Barry sent out his Turtwig, Mel made Sparkle return to her ball.

"Good job Sparkle. Go Stan!"

Then out came Stan and on the other side, Barry's Lvl. 9 Turtwig.

"Stan! Use Wing Attack!"

Stan was sure his Wing Attack would knock out the foe Turtwig but was surprised to see that he was still standing.

"Remember Stan! Barry's Turtwig has a high defense so don't get so cocky." Mel yelled at her stunned Starly.

"My Pokemon's HP is low… This could be a close fight. Turtwig! Use Withdraw!"

Then Turtwig's defense went up once more. Mel then commanded for another Wing Attack.

"Go Stan! Now!"

Stan then went in and hit Turtwig with a final Wing Attack. Turtwig tried to stand but he was too badly hurt. Then he fainted leaving Barry with a surprised look.

"What just happened? I lost?! Waah! What do you mean I lost?! Well, that's it! That's the last time I'll ever lose! I'm going to be the world's toughest Trainer, and you know it! The first thing to do is take on the Oreburgh City Pokémon Gym! I'm gonna toughen up for that, totally!"

But at this point Mel and Pen have already left.

"Barry has a habit of complaining if you haven't noticed Pen. Luckily while he was stomping around, I happened to find 900 pokedollars on the floor." Mel said with a wink and then we walked back to the Pokemon Center, laughing the entire way back.

* * *

**So yeah. I know the battle wasn't that epic but I'll get better in time (I hope) Anyway, I know leaving in the middle of Barry's rant was a bit mean but those rival rants are so long. Besides, I always mash buttons when they talk.**


	4. Changes

**Chapter 4!**

**:D**

**Here is I guess development. (In Pokemon eyes at least)**

* * *

After coming back from Jubilife City's Pokemon Center, Mel and I returned back to Route 203. Since it was around lunch time, Mel decided to let everyone out for lunch time. We stopped by a clearing near a small pond and decided to stop there. Mel released everyone else and told me to watch everyone while she went off to find some berries.

"Hey Stan!" I exclaimed when Mel was out of site "Great job on that battle! It was amazing!"

"Huh? Oh that's gr-great." He replied but not in his usual tone.

Concerned, the other three of us gathered near Stan and tried to question him.

"What's wrong Stan? Are you feeling sick? Should I go find Mel?" Beah said trying his best not to panic.

"Maybe it was the battle?" wondered Sparkle.

"That doesn't make sense." I added "Stan won. He should be feeling great right now."

"I have an idea! What if you get in one more battle Stan? That might make you feel better." Beah proposed.

"That's a great idea Beah!" Sparkle said with a big grin. Beah just smiled back and blushed a bit.

"What about it Stan?" we all asked in unison.

After a minute of consideration Stan replied "Let's do it then!"

* * *

"Okay, I found the perfect target Stan!" I said while pointing at a small Kricketot playing in a patch of grass.

"That's a great target Pen." Sparkle added with a smile.

I smiled a bit but felt a bit embarrassed. I then suddenly coughed and tried to change the subject.

"S-so any-anyway… If you win against that Bug Pokemon there, maybe that'll put you back in the game Stan."

"O-okay… I guess. But what if Mel comes back and thinks I'm beating up on that Kricketot?" Stan asked suddenly beginning to worry.

"Don't worry Stan." Sparkle said, reassuring him. "We have Beah on look out so he'll alert us if Mel is close by."

"We-well, okay then."

Stan then began to sneak up on the Kricketot and then he pounced. The Kricketot, being a very small Lvl. 4 jumped with surprise at the attacking. Then the battle began.

**AN: Once again I suggest Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum - Wild Pokémon Battle by PocketMonstersMusic to get you in the mood.**

"Stan! Use you're Wing Attack!" cried Sparkle

"Right!"

Stan then swooped down and aimed for the Kricketot. But for some strange reason he missed.

"Stan? What's the matter?!" I yelled out

"I don't know!"

"Don't worry Stan! Kricketot can only use Growl and Bide! It looks like it's using bide right now so you'd better knock it down in one hit."

"Got it Sparkle!"

And just as Sparkle said, the Kricketot used Bide while Stan used Quick Attack. This time he hit his mark and the wild Kricketot fainted. Stan, feeling a bit better about himself returned to the camp when something strange happened. He began to glow!

"Stan what's wrong?!" I began to yell "Are you okay?! What's happening?!"

"I don't… know… I feel… strange!"

Just then Stan began to glow even more and even began to twitch. I then started to run around looking for Beah when I was stopped by Sparkle.

"Don't worry Pen. This is normal. I had a feeling that this was coming soon during that last battle."

"Had a feeling?! What do you mea-"

"Shh! Just watch!" Sparkle said while covering my beak. I blushed slightly at this contact but then turned my attention towards Stan. Stan began to spread his wings. They looked as if they were… growing. Stan's body began to grow as I stared in awe. Could this be… evolution?

"It's almost over now." Sparkle said while walking towards Stan slowly.

I decided to follow suit at the same pace. By the time we reached Stan he was all slumped over with one wing covering his head. I raised a flipper to his back but just at that moment Stan turned around to meet us in the eye. His new large beak and wings were intimidating and caused Sparkle and I jumped back in surprise. Stan flew over, clumsily, to the nearby pond and looked at his reflection.

"Wha-what am I?" Stan replied, clearly confused.

"You're a Staravia now." Sparkle replied from behind.

I looked at Sparkle, confused, but I decided to dismiss it and I just ran to Stan's side. He kept looking at himself in the clear water. Then he turned from me and tried to take off. But due to him not being used to the change, Stan had a bit of trouble keeping himself in the air for too long.

"Stan, I suggest you land for now. This is a big problem."

Stan then landed nearby when I asked "Why? He got bigger and stronger. How is this a problem?"

"Well-"

"What's going on here?"

* * *

**Cliff hanger of sorts!**

**:D**

**At first I wanted to end this in Oreburg City but I ended up getting caught up in the evolution scene.**


	5. An Unexpected Result

**Hey anyone out there!**

**After rereading my last four chapters, I have found some ****_major_**** (in my eyes at least) typos and grammar errors.**

**-.-;**

**So in order to make sure that it won't happen in the future, I'm going to begin shoving them off to a friend to spell check the life out of it.**

**…**

**Or just post them anyway.**

* * *

"What's going on here?"

Oh right. That's what Sparkle meant. After hearing the familiar voice, the three of us turn to find a guilty looking Beah and a somewhat awestruck trainer.

"Pen, I'll repeat. What's going on here and where's Stan?"

Mel looked at us one by one until she reached Stan. With each step she took, I felt my heart explode. Would she get angry? We didn't mean to! What about Stan? How will she react?! And before I knew it, Mel was standing in front of Stan. She reluctantly reached her arm out towards the Staravia. At this time, Beah was running over towards Sparkle and me.

"Beah!" I hissed "What happened? You were supposed to warn us if Mel was coming!"

"I know but she saw me first and I got pulled into helping her with the groceries." Beah said while pointing over to a couple of bags.

Sparkle then jumped between us and said "No time to argue guys! Look!"

We all looked towards Mel and Stan. He jumped onto her arm like he did when he was a Starley. Mel then pulled out Stan's ball and made him return. Looking at the ball, she then released him and looked at us with a serious look.

_Sigh…_

Did she just… sigh?

"Guys! I wanted to see the evolution too!" she cried out.

What? That's all?

We all had a confused look until she had Stan hop on her arm again.

"Look, I knew that Stan was close to evolution. I thought that we could have a nice lunch first and then get him in a battle. But…" she then looked to us "it looks like you guys beat me to it." She added with a smile.

"Stan. Could you try flying as high as you can go?"

And following her instruction, Stan took off and flew straight up. He went so far up. Much farther than he could have as a Starly.

"Good job! Come back down now!" yelled Mel as she held her arm back out.

And as if rehearsed, Stan landed perfectly on her arm. I must say, his speed is impressive.

"Since Stan already evolved, let's get everyone up to par. But first, lunch!"

* * *

It's been two hours since our extensive training began. Mel was in the middle of a battle with Beah and a wild Shinx.

"Beah! Use Rollout!"

Sparkle, Stan and I were watching with deep interest. Mel said before the battle that one more battle for Beah should do it. We all wanted to see what Beah would evolve into.

"He's weak Beah! Use Tackle!"

And with that final Tackle attack, the wild Shinx fell. At that moment, we all cheered and ran toward Beah to see if that battle was enough to get him to evolve.

"Stand back everyone! Give Beah some room!" Mel ordered.

Just then, Beah looked just like Stan did earlier that day. He began to slightly glow and twitched periodically. His short stubby tail grew twice the size. Beah got off the ground with his forelegs and sat up right. When the glowing ended, we stood looking at Beah in his new form. Just then, Mel whipped out her light blue Pokedex.

It read "Bibarel- the Beaver Pokemon. A river dammed by Bibarel will never overflow its banks, which is appreciated by people nearby."

When reading more about Beah's new form, Beah, for some strange reason, ran over towards the small pond and began to drink water. I don't remember him being that thirsty before.

"Makes sense." said Mel while looking up from her Pokedex and towards Beah "He's part Water type now."

Really?! So that's why Mel needed Beah and I for the next gym. She must have planned this from the start.

"Beah! Could you get over here? I want to teach you a new move."

Beah came walking over and looked up at our trainer with curious eyes.

"Now that you're a Bibarel, I want you to learn the move Water Gun. It will really help us in the next gym. Come on Beah; let's go practice on those trees."

Mel looked over at the rest of us who had nothing to do and said "Pen! Sparkle! I want you two to spar with each other but only physical moves. I don't want Pen to faint because of your Spark attack, Sparkle! Stan! I want you to watch over them."

And with that, she went off with Beah to practice.

Sparkle looked at them walk off and then said "Well, let's get started then Pen."

"Right!"

* * *

**I didn't want everyone evolving in one chapter. What I plan on doing is having each one get their own chapter but I'm trying hard to remember how I played through Platinum.**

***rubs temples***

**In the next chapter, we should be in Oreburg City. If not, then this will be one long fic.**


	6. An Unfortunate Event

**So here's Chapter six. If I don't make it to Oreburgh City by the end of this chapter, someone slap me!**

**Oh yeah. I don't own Pokemon (I can't believe I forgot to say this in the last five chapters)**

**-.-"**

* * *

"I'll be referee." said Stan with an air of superiority "Okay, remember Pen, only Pound. And Sparkle can only use Tackle."

"Right."

"Got it!"

"Then let the battle begin!"

Back and forth we went. Tackle then Pound, Tackle then Pound until suddenly…

"Okay, stop!"

Sparkle and I turned to see that Mel has returned with Beah and is now handing Stan a berry.

"I think that's enough sparring, don't you guys?" Mel said while offering us Oran berries as well.

Looking over at us and then back at her Pokedex, Mel called me over. I hope this means it's time for my special training!

"Pen, sit here." she said while nodding over at a rock near her "We need to come up with a schedule. Right now the only Water type move you know is Bubble. I need you to learn BubbleBeam but I see here that that comes in a while. So we're going to have to work extra hard, okay?"

I nodded my head in agreement to the plan. Maybe if I was lucky, I could evolve like Beah and Stan! Mel says I'm already Lvl. 15 so I should be close to evolving too.

* * *

"Arg! I've had it!"

Oh great. Mel's angry again. It's not me, it's the wild Abra. Whenever we enter the tall grass, we only come across Abra but those Abra always Teleport away before I could battle. So far we've ran into at least ten wild Abra and they're getting on my nerves too. Mel pulled out her Pokedex and scanned the area quickly.

"Pen, get the others and tell them we're moving on. You guys need stronger opponents than these Abras." Mel said trying hard not to let her anger out again.

I then ran to the others and told them to gather all the stuff up while Mel was talking to a nearby trainer about the Gate up ahead.

"What was that yelling about?" asked Beah

"Oh you know. Abra."

"Oh that makes sense. Just seeing them appear gets me angry."

"Guys, I got directions!" Mel directed towards us so we went off to join her

* * *

As we entered the Oreburgh Gate, we were greeted by a large man. He and Mel talked for a bit and then he handed something to her. Mel then turned to us with excitement in her eyes.

"Hey guys! That nice man gave me an HM. Sadly I can only use it out of battle after beating the first Gym. But that gives us an even bigger reason for winning, right gang?!"

We all cheered in unison and continued through the cave-like Gate. I was ready to battle. Suddenly, a wild Geodude appeared!

"Pen! Get over here!"

I immediately hopped over and got into a fighting stance.

"Use Bubble! Yes! Super effective… Oh shoot. It fainted in one hit."

But after the battle I began to slightly glow. I guess that did it! I'm going to evolve! Mel pulled out her Pokedex and began to scan me.

Suddenly, a man came running through the Gate and knocked Mel to the ground causing her press something.

"Whoops! Sorry kid"

**_-BEEP-_**

What… what happened?! I looked at my flippers and they were the same size. I then looked at every part of my little body to see that nothing has changed. I'm still a Piplup? What happened? Wasn't I evolving?

"Sorry Pen." Mel said while picking me up "When that guy bumped into me, I accidentally pressed the B Button. This button is used to cancel evolution." She said with a sad expression

WHAT!? Does that mean I can't evolve anymore?! I began to flip out in her arms until she patted me on the head.

"Don't worry Pen. You can still evolve, you just need to get more training is all." She told me with a sad tone in her voice.

Mel put me back down and I continued to follow her. The others soon followed suit trying to cheer me up. How can they understand? It's like giving candy to a kid but right before they put it in their mouth, some random guy bumps into them causing that kid to lose it. I guess all I can do now is train.

* * *

We finally got out of the cave but I guess I still haven't leveled up. We have finally reached Oreburgh but I can't really care. Well, I guess I have to since we're going to battle the gym by tomorrow but I just can't feel enthusiastic about it. Mel saw that the sun was about to set so she then put us in our balls and brought us to the Pokemon Center saying she'll go out to find a place for us to train tomorrow.

"Pen, are you okay?" asked Beah trying to get me to talk

"It's nothing."

"Pen…"

"Pen, you need to get out of this slump!" roared Sparkle

"What can I do? It will take a long time until I'm ready to level up. Remember how many Bidoof I had to fight?"

"That's why Mel is off finding a place for you to train."

"Hey Beah, Stan. Can I ask you guys a question?"

Stan looked up at me "Yeah. What's up?"

"How does it feel to evolve?"

Stan and Beah stayed quiet for a bit then looked at each other.

Beah started off "It feels like-"

"Like you just got a major power boost and growth spurt at the same time!" Stan ended with enthusiasm.

Hmmm… I then looked back and forth between Beah and Stan and walked off with a smile. After that, Stan and Beah began to discuss their life on Route 201. Sparkle, not interested in their conversation, followed me and we sat by the window together. I began to gaze at the dark sky that was now gaining stars. Sparkle joined me in the star gazing. We sat there for about five minutes but it felt like hours. I then turned to her while trying to think of something to say. Then I got an idea.

"Well Sparkle, since we're the only ones that haven't evolved yet, you want to make a deal?" I said with a sly smile

"Depends… What are the terms?" Sparkle said with obvious curiosity

After about one minute of brainstorming I said "How about the loser has to tell the other about their past?"

Sparkle looked back at me with surprise in her eyes. She definitely wasn't expecting this. If this went my way, I may be able to find out something new about Sparkle. For some strange reason though, I'm feeling a bit nervous as well. It must be because I don't want to lose. Right?

Reluctantly, Sparkle replied with a quiet "Alright…"

* * *

**This one took me a while to write but I blame that on personal statements.**

**Anyway, I'm still not sure who I want to win so I'll have to think for a bit. But for now…**

***slaps self for taking so long to get to Oreburgh City***

**Oh, I feel like I should explain the evolution in this chapter. When playing a game, I always had the habit of playing with my finger on or near the B Button. When my Pen was about to evolve, my little brother accidentally made me push the B Button. Later I beat him up but at the time, I felt horrible. The only other time I ever pressed the B Button was with an Eevee… I think…**

**Did I make Pen too mopey?**

**o.o**


	7. Battle for Two

**So here's chapter seven! First, I want to say thank you to TheLegacy79 for reviewing my first three chapters. (So far) Anyway, I really appreciate it! It keeps me feeling positive these days so thank you.**

**:D**

**Let's see if I can get to the gym in this chapter! (I doubt it -.-)**

**I don't own Pokemon.**

* * *

Reluctantly, Sparkle replied with a quiet "Alright…"

When I heard her reply, I felt my heart skip a beat. Why though? Is it because I'm afraid of losing? That must be it… It has to be…

Just then, Mel burst through the doors causing Sparkle and I to break eye contact and look back towards our trainer.

"Guys, guess what? I found some places with strong Pokemon to fight against as well as some trainers. But now the main question is if you want to get a room here or camp out." Mel asked us while sitting down in one of the couches near us.

"Well guys, what do you want to do?" Stan asked while turning toward the rest of us

"Well," Sparkle started "We've never slept in a Pokemon Center before, have we?"

That is true. We would usually stay out in a tent. I liked the idea of camping out but Sparkle brings up a good point. However, before we could reach a consensus, the nurse began to lock the front door.

"Whoops. I guess we waited too long."

And with that, Mel then walked up to the front desk to request a room for the five of us.

* * *

"Okay guys, we only have four beds here so two of us will have to share a bed."

And with that, Mel pulled out five assorted sticks.

"The rules are simple; whoever pulls a full stick gets their own bed. However, if you pull a short stick, then the one with the matching stick will have to share a bed with you." Mel said while shuffling the sticks in order to hide their height from us.

First Stan pulled one. It was full. Then Sparkle went. She pulled a half stick. For some strange reason, my heart began to race. I don't know why though! Maybe I just don't like losing. No, that can't be it because there is no winning or losing in something like this. Or is there? Would that mean bunking with Sparkle is a win or a loss? Arg! I don't know. I just don't know.

Beah and I looked at each other. He had this strange determination in his eyes that I don't remember seeing when he was a Bidoof. We kept staring at each other and then back to the sticks until…

"Okay, that's long enough!" shouted Mel with apparent irritation in her voice "We're just pulling straws to see who sleeps where, not going into battle!"

And with that, Mel then shut her eyes and handed both me and Beah sticks since we took so long to choose. They were both long.

…

How come I'm disappointed?

"Come on Sparkle. Let's get to bed." Mel said while opening her arms for Sparkle to jump into.

"Everyone else just choose a bed to occupy, okay?"

I really wish that we went camping now.

* * *

**_-TWEET-_**

The sound of a whistle went off and we all woke up in an instance. By we, I mean just Stan, Beah and me. It seems that Sparkle had already woke up along with Mel. We were still groggy but if we didn't get up, then no food until lunch. That's how strict Mel was when it was training time.

"Come on, come on! Let's get moving! Especially you Pen!"

I looked at the wall clock to see that it was just four in the morning. Too early! But if we get training done now, we can challenge the gym by the end of the day. We then proceeded to follow Mel outside for a morning run. She says it's to get us pumped but I'd be much happier if we started off with breakfast.

After our run, we sat at one of the picnic benches outside of the Pokemon Center. By now it was around five so the sun was beginning to rise. As we watched the rising sun, Mel began to serve us some special Pokemon food she made for today. I guess it has something in it that will keep us active and alert but that's just my guess.

"Okay, so when I looked around for a good place to train Water types, I found out about the Oreburgh Mines. I was told that we can find a lot of strong Rock and Ground types. That would be great for you Pen. Does that sound good to you?"

Sound great? That sounds just perfect!

And then we finished of our breakfast and headed south for the mines.

* * *

Before we entered we noticed two large conveyer belts, each heading into the mines. We then cautiously entered the mine making sure not to trip over the rubble that lay forgotten on the floor.

After a couple of battles with wild Geodude and Onix we came upon another room. As we entered all we could see was a giant rock. Mel didn't know what it was so she decided to ask a nearby worker. He was a bit younger than the other workers we've seen in the mine. In fact, he looked a bit too young to be working in a place like this. But ignoring that, Mel went to ask him anyway.

"Hey, do you know wha-"

"You looked at me weird! Let's battle!"

"Oh no…"

For some strange reason, the worker wanted a double battle. Mel was fine with it but wasn't sure who to use.

"Hmmm… It would be best to go with opposites. But then again, it is a worker so he probably has an Electric type, a Rock type or a fighting type"

After about five minutes, Mel decided to throw in Sparkle and me. We both looked at each other and then to the worker. He sent out a Geodude and a Machop.

"Oh no…" Mel whispered "Pen! Watch out for Sparkle, okay!"

_Got it! I can do this!_

"Pen, use Bubble on Geodude! Sparkle, use Spark on Machop!"

Then we rushed in with our attacks. Luckily, we were faster than the opponents Pokemon so our attacks his first. However, that didn't stop them from attacking back. After our attack the Machop and Geodude were still standing and willing to fight. They attacked with a Low Kick and a Rock Throw. When I looked for their line of attack, I saw that they were both aiming for Sparkle. Without time to think, I jumped in the way to protect her from the hits.

"Pen!" all my comrades cried once I got hit

Mel then pulled me aside to heal with a Potion while she had Sparkle hit the Machop with another Spark attack.

"Geodude, use Rock Throw." Said the worker calmly

By now, I had my health fully restored but Mel wouldn't put me back until the next turn.

"Sparkle! Dodge it now!"

Sparkle quickly evaded the attack and I was let back in. Sparkle hit the Machop with one more Spark attack and I the Geodude with one of my Bubble attacks. The Geodude then fainted but the Machop still had some fight left in him. The Machop then used Focus Energy on his turn. Then on our next turn, Sparkle and I went in with a Spark and Bubble combo, knocking the Machop out.

"That was a good battle." Said the worker

"It was. Thanks. Aren't you a bit young to be working here?"

"I'm not that young! I'm 15! Besides, aren't you a bit young to be wandering through the mines?"

"Don't worry. I just turned 11 and I have my Pokemon with me." Mel replied while looking at us

"Well anyway, my name's Quentin. And you?"

"Mel."

While the worker and Mel began to socialize, the other two came over to us to congratulate us. Sparkle and I then turned to each other and we both had a cheesy grin on our faces. We were absolutely exhausted so we didn't speak. Instead, we just high fived. But right when her paw and my flipper touched, they began to glow.

"Mel! I think you should take a look at you're Pokemon!" the worker informed Mel as the glowing began to grow.

"Oh my gosh!" Mel then frantically reached into her pocket and pulled out her Pokedex once more.

* * *

**So yeah, I decided to end it there. :o**

**As for that trainer battle, I just made it up for the sake of the plot. Let's just say that one of the workers has different work days than the others and he prefers double battles. Anyway, I had to make this trainer up because at the time that I don't have internet connection so I'm basing this off of memory.**

***rubs temples***

**But hey, I was able to write four pages while only relying on memory so that's good! But anyway, once I get internet connection again, this should be up.**

**:D**

**_*EDIT*_**

**I made my age and the worker's age canon.**

**:3**

**If you read Chapter 10, you'll understand why I did that. XD I decided to go with my delusions! But anyway, let's just say that Quentin (an actual worker on Iron Island) is 15 and just got a job at the mines.**


	8. Aftermath for Two

**Mel again! So I left off with a double battle resulting in a double knock out and a double evolution. (So many doubles…)**

**:D**

**Yeah so I couldn't decide who would win the bet so I made it a tie. I expect this chapter to be mainly character development and maybe a battle but I'm not sure.**

**Anyway, I don't own Pokemon and that's why I'm writing fanfics!**

***begins to cry in corner***

* * *

Both Sparkle and I began to glow simultaneously. We were probably thinking the same thing too.

In a matter of seconds which felt like years, Sparkle and I have evolved into new forms. Sparkle had grown into a larger looking Shinx. She now had a mane of black and grew about a foot. She now had two electric yellow bands on her front paws and a bit of an angry look on her face. He however forced her face to form a pleasant smile.

Mel scanned Sparkle first and it read "Luxio – the Spark Pokemon. Strong electricity courses through the tips of its sharp claws. A light scratch causes fainting in foes."

As we all looked at Sparkle, I then remembered that I need to look at the new me too. I looked first at my flippers. They have gotten longer and had two colors to them, a dark blue on top and a lighter blue underneath. I looked at my feet to see that they have grown as well. Moving up I saw that my stomach now had four white, button-like circles all lined up. Then I noticed my new height. I was about the same height as Beah if he were to sit upright. Mel then proceeded to scan me as well.

"Prinplup – the Penguin Pokemon. Because every Prinplup considers itself to be the most important, they can never form a group."

So, I was now a Prinplup and Sparkle was now a Luxio. Just before I was about to jump for joy, I remembered the bet. I looked at Sparkle, who remembered the bet at the same time, and we shared the same look. It was a worried yet serious look.

"Okay guys, let's get you back to the Pokemon Center"

* * *

After getting healed, we went back to the mines to train. We battled a couple more battles but  
I hardly noticed. My mind kept wandering back to the bet Sparkle and I had made. To tell you the truth, I was a bit excited but I didn't know why. With my mind on the bet, hours flew by quickly and I was told that I already gained three levels and was ready to learn BubbleBeam. Before I knew it, it was already lunch time and we were all settled by the Pokemon Center.

"Sparkle, could we talk?"

"Huh? Oh, sure."

By that reply, I could tell that Sparkle was thinking about the same thing. I pulled her aside and we walked over to a nearby tree.

"So, about the bet…" I started off

"I think we should just both talk." Sparkle said while looking out at the mines.

"I was thinking the same thing. But when and where?"

"How about tonight? Mel said that we're camping out tonight so we can just sneak out of the tent. There should be a quiet area we could go."

"That sounds great."

And with that, we headed back to the group. Stan looked at me with a strange look and said "What was that all about?" I just ignored the question though. Beah, however, looked a bit concerned and confused. He looked like he wanted to know what we were discussing but was afraid to find out. That was strange. And just like that, lunch was over.

* * *

Later that day all we did was train. Over and over, we stuck to the same routine. Later around 17:00 (5 p.m.) Mel decided that it was about time to visit the gym. We all got healed and walked west for the gym.

"What do you mean he's not here?!" Mel exclaimed

"It's like I said. Gym Leader Roark is out in the Oreburgh Mine at this time. I suggest you go there if you want to talk with him."

And with that, the worker shut the door to the gym leaving us dumbfounded.

"Well, let's go back to the mine then." Mel said with a sigh

* * *

We reached the back of the Oreburgh Mine to see a man with a red work helmet crouched between two cracked boulders.

"Hey! You want to learn how to use Rock Smash?" the strange man said with peaking excitement

"Umm… Sure?"

**_-SMASH-_**

"And that's how it's done." The man said proudly

"Um, not that I don't care but-"

"Here! Take this HM! It contains Rock Smash. But you can only use it with the Oreburgh gym badge."

"Yeah that's why we're here. Do you know where we can-"

"Well, I gotta go. See you later!"

And then he just left. Confused, Mel went over to ask a worker who the man was.

"Oh that was Roark, the gym leader. He often comes in here to mine with us."

"WHAT?!"

And, like some sad comedy, we went running back to the gym.

* * *

**_-BANG- -BANG-_**

"Hello? Oh! You're the trainer from the mine!" said Roark with his head popping out of the gym door

We have run all the way to the gym from the mine. We tried our best to avoid battles but we couldn't run away. We arrived about 30 or 45 minutes after Roark left the cave.

"I'm *pant* here *pant* for a *pant* battle…" Mel was only able to say that much

"Oh sorry, the gym closes at 19:00" said Roark while pointing at the sign near the door

"Huh?!" frantically, Mel looks at her Poketch to see that it was now 19:59

"Try coming back tomorrow! I'll be glad to battle you then." Roark said before slamming the door in our faces.

"Well guys, we'd better set up camp now."

* * *

**I really hate myself don't I? That and I seem to jump around a lot...**

**XD**

**I thought giving gyms closing times made sense (gym leaders need sleep too) I just feel bad that I'm intentionally delaying this match. If it takes ten chapters per gym, I think I'll go nuts.**

** . **

**But hey, at least I made contact with Roark.**


	9. Pen's Past

**Hey anyone out there!**

**Here's chapter nine. Go character development! I fear that at the rate I'm going, this thing will be close to 100 chapters.**

**XD**

**I guess I could just make a sequel or just turn this whole thing into a trilogy (I highly doubt it though)**

**I just hope I can get this done by next year. Two years tops.**

**I don't own Pokemon.**

* * *

While Mel was setting up her tent, the others and I went off to the side to discuss tomorrows match.

"I heard from a conversation Mel had with a worker in the mine that Roark had a Geodude on his team." Stan said while perched on a fallen log

"Then I don't think it would be good for you to battle Stan." Added Beah with a worried look

"Oh, don't worry about me! I can take on a Rock type any day!"

"If you say so…"

"Guys! Could I get some help?" Mel said towards us

Then we all went over to help our struggling trainer

"I hope you guys weren't discussing a strategy without me." Mel said while driving a stake into the ground

"Because I think I've got some good ideas too."

* * *

After discussing the plan of attack, Mel began to cook diner and said that we could go and play until she was done.

"I think I'll go train" Stan said before flying off

"Me too" added Beah and he ran off to train with a pile of rocks

"Well they all look eager. Too bad I can't be used." Sparkle said with a sigh "Oh well, you'll just have to win for me then Pen" she then said with a large grin

This made me feel really embarrassed for some reason. My face began to feel hot but luckily Mel called us back in before Sparkle took notice.

"Okay guys, eat up! Tonight we're having some hot soup."

We all sat around the fire in our usual order. Mel had always sat between Stan and me. Next to Stan was Beah and Sparkle was between him and me. My mind was still on Sparkles last comment but I decided to just shake it off. She probably didn't mean it like that. But still, a part of me wishes that she did.

* * *

After dinner, we were all going in for bed. Since we were all bigger than we were the last time we camped out, she decided to put all the guys in our balls while she left Sparkle out to act as a guard. While sitting in my ball, I couldn't help thinking about Sparkle.

_What if she gets attacked? Nah, she can handle herself. But still, what if someone does come and kidnaps her and Mel?! What will we do then?! Maybe I should go out and-_

But before I could finish that thought, I was released from my ball. I looked around expecting to see Mel holding my ball but instead I found that only Sparkle was awake.

"Huh? Sparkle? What's u-"

She then quickly covers my beak with her paws and shushes me. Sparkle nodded her head towards the tent's entrance, signaling to follow her.

While outside, the sky looked just as it did the night before only it looked even larger while outside as opposed to behind a window.

"So… Do you want to start?"

"Huh?" I asked "Start what?"

"Well you know! We both decided to talk! So, do you want to go first?"

"Well, might as well."

We decided to walk a bit farther out until we reached a small secluded area near that still had the tent in sight. I sat down against a building and Sparkle sat down right next to me.

"Hey! Wh-what are you-"

"Shhhh! Keep your voice down" Sparkle whispered back "You don't want to wake up the whole town, do you? Besides, it's cold." She then added with her cheeks tinged a faint pink

Seeing this I turned a bit, blushing as well "O-okay then…"

A couple of minutes passed by which felt like hours upon hours. I wanted to wait until the heat in my face went away but that was very difficult. I decided to just start anyway. All the time, Sparkle stayed listening, not taking her gaze off of me.

"So, it all began in Professor Rowan's lab. I remember hatching out of my egg to find two lab assistants watching me intently. I looked around to see a room of white. On both of my sides were eggs but they didn't look ready to hatch any time soon. I assumed that they would be my siblings since we were all in the same place. After a while, the other eggs hatched but into two other Pokemon, a Turtwig and a Chimchar. Since we were about the same age and we never left each other's side, we considered each other as brothers. After an amount of time, the lab became very busy. The lab assistants were running all over the lab looking for 'two special children' that could help the professor in his research. Of course, at the time my friends and I thought that it had nothing to do with us so we just ignored them. Then one day we were placed into Pokeballs and put all together in a suitcase. I don't know what happened outside for a couple of hours but later we were pulled out of the suitcase. Then when I was released I was in an open field and I met Mel for the first time."

"So that's how you and Mel met?"

"Yeah. I don't have much going on before Mel and I met. But the fact that I grew up in a lab made me start to think."

"Think about what?"

"Well, about my parents really. I want to know where they are. Who they were. What they're doing now. Do they know I hatched? Are they still alive?"

While questioning myself, I got up and began to pace around a bit.

"Does…" Sparkle began "Does this mean that you'll be… Leaving?"

I stayed quiet for a bit. I turned around to look Sparkle in the eyes. She had a sad look on her face.

"Well-"

**_-BOOM-_**

* * *

**Cliffhanger!**

**:D**

***slaps self***

**Sorry, I wanted to get farther but I'm tired (typing this at 23:00 right now)**

**Anyway, I would really appreciate reviews but I'm not begging for them. I would just like to know how others feel about the pacing. I feel that I'm going too slowly.**

**-.-"**

**But maybe that's just me.**


	10. And Boom Goes the Dynamite!

**Mel again! :D**

**So I left off the last chapter with a cliffhanger so let's get this started!**

**I don't own Pokemon!**

* * *

**_-BOOM-_**

"What was that?!" Sparkle exclaimed with surprise in her voice

"I-I don't know! Let's check it out!"

And then we went running back to camp. On our way back, I realized that it was dawn already.

_I hope nothing happened to the others!_

When we reached the tent, we saw that it was unharmed but we couldn't be too sure. Sparkle and I burst into the tent to see Mel getting her pack on.

"There you are! I was worried when that noise went off. I guess you guys were just keeping watch outside. But that can wait, let's go investigate first."

As we left the tent Mel called out Stan from his ball. He was tired when he came out, which is reasonable due to the time.

"Stan! Fly up ahead and see where that explosion came from!"

As Stan flew off the three of waited in anticipation. Watching the skies for our friend to return with news. Just then we saw Stan flying back from the mines. He cried his name. We knew where to go.

* * *

"We're finally here." Mel said with a pant or two

Because of the explosion, lots of people were out of their homes and running all over the place. It took us a whole two hours in order to get over to the mines instead of the usual one hour.

"Help!"

Right when we heard that cry, the four of us turned our attention towards a worker that managed to get out of the ruble.

"Were you the only one in there?" Mel asked while helping the worker

"No! My pal's still in there! Please get help…" the worker said while passing out

Mel set the worker against a nearby pillar. She walked up to the entrance of the mine to see that it was blocked with a 15-20 foot tall pile of rocks. She then began to pound at the rocks, then she tried to move them out of the way.

"Great. Now what…"

Mel looked back at us then had an idea. First she took out a Pokeball and made Stan return. She then reached for another ball and let our Beah.

"Beah! Pen! Help me here! I want you guys to use Watergun and BubbleBeam!"

_Got it!_

Beah and I nodded at each other and then released our attacks. We kept going until Mel called out to us.

"That's enough! Now, Beah, use Rollout. And Sparkle, you use Tackle! Pen, I want you to keep hitting that wall with BubbleBeam!"

Then all three of us began to hit the wall repetitively. The plan began to work! With Beah and Sparkle hitting the rocks and my constant BubbleBeam, the wall of rocks began to weaken.

"I hope this works…"

**_-CRACK-_**

And then in that moment, a hole appeared. Mel released Stan again and told him to stay put and call for help if we didn't come back after one hour.

"Let's move in guys!" Mel said while moving a board to keep the entrance stable

* * *

It was dark and cramped in the mine. The air was filled with dust and we couldn't see that far ahead.

"Sparkle, could you use Spark to light our way?"

Sparkle charged her energy and stored it all in her tail. After a while, there was a bright light coming from her tail.

"That's great Sparkle! Now, let's find that worker."

After about thirty minutes of walking in the cramped mine we heard a faint voice ahead.

"he-el-p… me…"

"Don't worry! We're coming!"

We began to move faster and faster until we came to the source. We saw a man crushed by a large rock. It was the same worker that we had battled the day before, it was Quentin! We found his Geodude and Machop gathered around him trying to move the rock.

"Guys! Help me move this rock! Don't worry, we'll get you out of here Quentin!"

"o-okay…"

"Okay, I'm going to borrow your Pokemon for a bit if that's okay. Machop, could you use Low Kick on the rock? And Geodude, you use Rock Throw. Beah, Pen, Sparkle. I want you three to do the same strategy we used to get in here."

Even though we were all attacking, the rock wasn't cracking.

"Arg! If only we could use Rock Smash!" Mel exclaimed with a very worried tone

"Geodude! Use Rock Smash!"

A mysterious, yet familiar, voice rang out. We all looked back to see a man shrouded in darkness. The Geodude hopped forward and smashed the rock Quentin was trapped under. Mel ran forward to help him up.

"Are you okay?" Mel asked while extending her arm out

"Yeah, now I am. Thanks." he said, taking her hand

Mel then turned to the mysterious man that helped her out.

"Thank you," she began "but who are you?"

The man stepped forward to reveal himself as Roark, the Oreburgh Gym Leader.

"We already met, right? But anyway, there's no time for that! Let's get out of here first."

"R-right!"

Then we followed Roark out of the mine. Luckily he had packed an Escape Rope so we got out much faster. Mel was still helping Quentin walk all the way out. As we exited, we were first greeted by Stan and then the entire population of Oreburgh.

"They're all right!" someone in the crowd cried out

We were then surrounded by a bunch of people. Quentin's friend/co-worker came over and hugged both Quentin and Mel. After his friend walked away, Quentin went and hugged Mel and began to thank her over and over. She wasn't too comfortable with someone touching her but she hid that for now.

"Mel," Roark said before leaving "you can challenge the gym at any time."

"Right! I can't wait!" Mel said with the worker still clinging onto her

Mel then began to try to pry Quentin off but he wouldn't budge. She decided to stop trying.

"I still wonder though," I said out loud "what set off that explosion?"

"Who knows? For now, let's be glad that we got out of that mine safely." Sparkle added with a slight smile

* * *

**? P.O.V**

"Darn…"

A cloaked figure above the mine eyed Mel and her Pokemon.

"We'll try again next time."

And just like that, they disappeared.

* * *

**Hey! I know that ending was a bit botched and I'm sorry.**

**o.o"**

**This chapter took a while because I had no imagination at the time. I don't know why, but I ended up pairing myself with Quentin. I don't know, the worker sprites from the game doesn't really show their face so I thought "Why not?" Besides, a four year distance isn't that bad, right?**

***slaps self***

**Anyway… I'm brainstorming for the next chapter but I pretty much have it all planned out. Next chapter I'm definitely going to challenge that gym! :D**


	11. The Oreburgh Gym

**Mel again! And here is chapter 11!**

**So I decided that my pacing is going a bit slow lately so I'm gonna try to speed it up.**

**:D**

**Or just keep going like this. I really like the pace I'm going at right now. As for Quentin, I figured if kids at the young age of 10 can go on dangerous adventures, why can't 14-15 year olds work?  
:3  
Anything to make it work out…**

**I don't own Pok****émon!**

* * *

After the events of this morning, Mel decided that we should have one more training session. But this time we'll have a training partner.

"Okay guys! After this morning, I feel that we still need to work on our Water-type attacks. So, in order to help I got Quentin to help out!" Mel said while pulling on Quentin's arm "Then when we're done with this small training session, we'll go to the gym."

Quentin had a weak smile on his face. I guess that he isn't feeling up to after yesterday's loss.

"Come on Quentin! Look a bit excited at least." Mel told him a little disappointed at his lack of pep

"Sorry, but I didn't sign up for this…" he responded with an annoyed look

Mel glared at him a bit then said "Well then, let's see what I do the next time you're trapped in a mine."

"Let's train then!" Quentin replied with fear in his voice

* * *

We decided to do a double battle since that's what Quentin specialized in. He sent out his only Pokémon, Machop and Geodude, while Mel sent me and Beah out.

"Please don't be too rough on them." Quentin said a bit worried

"Oh don't you worry Quinny. Don't you worry one bit..."

**-15 MINUTES LATER-**

Beah and I looked at the other side of the field. As the dust cleared, we saw that we got the opposing team to faint. As Beah and I celebrated, Quentin began to freak out.

"I told you to be careful!" he yelled while running towards his friends

"I guess I went a bit overboard. Sorry Quinny…" Mel said with a weak smile

Mel and Quentin then brought us to the Pokémon Center. Once they left us there, they went off to go have lunch. We got a chance to socialize and relax.

"Nice battle." Sparkle said while walking over to Beah and me

We both turned pink a bit but I shook it off. I cleared my throat a bit and then Beah started up the conversation again.

"A-anyway, it was a nice battle. I feel bad for the others though…" Beah said while looking over at Quentin's Pokémon.

I then waddled over to them and invited them over to talk. Then the six of us just kept talking until our trainers came to take us back.

"Well, thanks again Mel. And good luck in your gym battle! I'm going to see if I can go over and watch."

"No problem Quinny! Anyway, we'd better be off. I hope you can watch it. I'll show you that all that training didn't go to waste!" Mel said while getting pumped up

"I'll see you there then"

And with that, we parted ways for now.

* * *

We got through the first to trainers with no problem. It was then that we were facing Roark in the middle of the ring. He was taking care of his Pokémon at the moment. He then noticed Mel and got into position. Mel looked around to see a couple of Youngsters and Workers that came to watch. When she spotted Quentin she began to wave her arms. Then she got into her serious battle mode.

"Welcome! This is the Oreburgh Pokémon Gym! I'm Roark, the Gym Leader! I'm but one Trainer who decided to walk proudly with Rock-type Pokémon! As the Gym Leader, I need to see your potential as a trainer. And, I'll need to see the toughness of the Pokémon that battle with you!"

"Yeah, yeah. Let's battle!"

Roark then sent out his Lv. 12 Geodude and Mel sent our Beah, which is now close to Lv. 20.

"Beah! Use Water Gun!"

Mel started off strong with a Water-type attack. The Geodude had no time to doge and got hit. Mel thought he was down for the count but when she checked his stats, he still had about one or two HP left.

"Darn! I thought that would do it…"

"No way! Not yet! Not giving up! Geodude, use Stealth Rock!"

And then the Geodude immediately flung hundreds of rocks all over our side of the field.

"Beah! One more Water Gun!"

And with that, the Geodude fainted. Roark was about to send in Onix. Mel didn't want me to get hurt so she decided not to switch Beah out just yet.

"Beah! Use Water Gun!"

Just like last time, the Onix didn't go down in one hit. Roark then had Onix use Rock Throw. It did quite a bit of damage but not enough to knock Beah out. Mel had Beah use one final Water Gun knocking the massive Onix out. When Roark was about to put in his Cranidos, Mel then pulled Beah back in.

"You did great out there Beah. Pen, I'm sorry. Are you okay with hurt a bit?"

_I'm fine with anything!_

I nodded back Mel with a determined look and she sent me out. At first, all I could feel was the sharp and jagged feel of the Stealth Rock. Then I decided to not let it bother me.

"Think you can take down the next Pokémon like you did earlier?"

"I'm pretty sure! Pen, use BubbleBeam!"

"I don't think so! Cranidos, use Pursuit!"

I then unleashed a beam of fast and powerful bubbles. All of them hit Roark's Cranidos but he wasn't backing down. Since I wasn't switching oput of battle, Pursuit didn't hit me first. The first BubbleBeam didn't finish the job though.

"Pen! One more BubbleBeam!"

And once that attack hit, Roark's Cranidos fainted.

"W-what? That can't be! My buffed-up Pokémon!"

After the battle, Mel ran up to me and gave me a large hug and then healed me with a Potion she had on hand. She then looked back up at Quentin and gave him a large thumbs-up. At this moment Roark walked up to us and Mel stood back up.

"This is embarrassing... I went and lost to a Trainer who didn't have a single Gym Badge... But that's tough. You were strong and I was weak. That's all there is. According to Pokémon League rules, I have to give you our Gym Badge since you've beaten me, the Leader. Here's your official Pokémon League Coal Badge."

Mel looked at the badge for a second then squealed in joy. She then pulled out her badge case and placed the Coal Badge in its proper place.

"In this region of Sinnoh, there are seven other Gym Leaders. I should warn you — they're a lot tougher than I am!"

"I'll take your word for it. And you can tell those other Gym Leaders to get ready." Mel told Roark while walking off.

* * *

Outside of the gym, Mel met up with Quentin and he escorted us to the Pokémon Center. While there, we were healed up and we left in a hurry. Mel said that she really wants to get to the next route. Might as well, after all, what else can we do in Oreburgh. Mel then had a long good bye with Quentin while we said a goodbye to his Pokémon as well.

"I'll be sure to see you again, okay Quinny? When we meet up again let's battle."

"That would be great." Quentin said with a small smile

"By the way, the best place to go from here would be Jubilife City since you don't seem to have a bike." he added while looking at Mel's bag.

"Right! Then I'll go find a bike. There should be a shop around Jubilife, right?"

"The only one I can think of is in Eterna City."

"That far?!" Mel said with a bit of shock "Oh well, it'll be a good workout. I'll head straight back here once I get a bike so you'd better wait up."

Then we turned and began to walk over the Oreburgh Gate. Right when we were about to walk into the Gate, Quentin ran up to us frantically.

"Wait!"

"What's up?" Mel said a bit confused

"I'm going with you. It'll be dangerous for you to travel all that way by yourself."

"Don't worry. I've got Pen with me," she said while looking at me "what's the worst that could happen?"

"No buts! Besides, my boss already told me to 'relax a bit' so I've got nothing better to do."

_'That basically means that he's out of work for a while.' _I thought while sweating a bit

After a few exchanges of looks between Mel, Quentin and I, she finally gave in.

"Fine then. We're off!"

And then just like that, Quentin joined our little group.

* * *

**And that's it for Oreburgh.**

**:D**

**I never want to write about Oreburgh EVER AGAIN.**

**O.O**

**It took me do long just to get there. And don't forget all the filler and fluff there was in between.**

**-.-"**

**And about adding Quinny to the party, I felt that a one person show would get lonely. Why not have it like the anime where Ash always has at least _one_ other person with him? :3 Anyway, I'm working on Chapter 12 and 13 as I type. :D**


	12. Vs Galactic

**Hey everypony, Mel here!**

**:D**

**So here's chapter 12. Here we meet up with Lucas and Looker. :3 More double battles! I feel bad that I didn't include Looker when I first went to Jubilife but I kind of forgot about him.**

**o.o"**

**I don't own Pokémon!**

* * *

The trip back to Jubilife City went by pretty fast. Since we've already challenged everyone in the Gate and on Route 203, we were able to reach Jubilife by nightfall. It was very different traveling with another trainer though. It was as if Quentin has never really left Oreburgh. When we entered the city, we came across a tall man wearing a long brown trench coat. He was looking around until he made eye contact with Mel.

"Oh it's you again!" the man said while walking over

"Who's that?" Quentin whispered towards Mel with suspicion in his voice

"Just a 'friend' I met the last time I came here."

Quentin looked from her to the man and ended up with a confused look. Mel looked at me and saw that I had a confused look on my face as well.

"Oh right Pen! You were in the Pokémon Center when I met him. He says his name is Looker but I doubt that's what it really is."

Makes sense I guess. Anyway, he came over and then he and Mel began to discuss the Pal Pad while Quentin stood on the side. Quentin then said he just remembered that he had to go and get something from the Pokémart and ran off. I decided that I should use this time to go look around. I began to walk to the northern part of the city where I saw four figures.

_I guess it wouldn't hurt if I got a bit closer…_

When I moved in closer I found that I knew two of those people. It was Professor Rowan and his lab assistant Lucas! But who were the other two? I moved in a little closer and saw that the other two guys were wearing matching clothes. Even their hair matched! They also had this large yellow picture on their shirts but I wasn't sure what it was. It looked like they were giving the professor a hard time so I decided to go and get Mel.

"Pen? Where did you run off to?"

Just then, Mel came running in trying to find me. In order to keep the two matching guys and the professor from noticing, I ran over to her as quickly as I could have.

"There you are Pen! I was worried. Why did you wander off though? Is something over there?"

Mel then peaked over and saw the same sight I did.

"They look like they need help! Come on Pen! We'll meet up with Quinny later!"

Mel and I then ran up towards Professor Rowan and Lucas. Lucas had a look of relief while Rowan looked the same as ever.

"Thank goodness you came!" Lucas said "These guys won't leave the professor alone!"

"Why? What do they want?"

"I think they want the professor's research."

Then without a word, the two strangers sent out two Pokémon. They looked as if they wanted to battle.

"Mel!" Lucas shouted "Join me and battle these guys!"

"Alright then. Let's go Pen!"

Mel took out her Pokédex and scanned the other two Pokémon.

"Let's see, we have a Stunky and a Glameow huh. We can take them on!"

Lucas sent out his Chimchar while Mel sent me out. It was good seeing my old friend again but formalities had to wait. It was battle time now.

"Lucas! You take care of the Stunky. Pen and I will take down that Glameow."

"Got it! Chimchar, use Ember on Stunky!"

"Pen use BubbleBeam on Glameow!"

But before I could attack, the enemy Glameow said something.

'You would attack a weak and fragile girl?! How mean!'

And just like that, she began to cry.

'Umm… I-'

But before I could even finish my sentence, she jumped on me and slapped me a couple of times. I was so surprised that I flinched.

"Careful Pen!" Mel called out to me "She just used Fake Out! Now, use your BubbleBeam!"

Getting back into the game, I unleashed a BubbleBeam that knocked the Glameow out in one hit. I looked over to see how Chimchar was doing to see that he was having a bit of trouble.

"Pen! Help Chimchar out and use Bubblebeam!"

I unleashed another BubbleBeam and was able to knock the Stunky out.

'Thanks Pip- I mean Pen' Chimchar said while grinning at me

'No problem Chimchar.'

While Chimchar and I caught up, it turns out that the opponents got away. I waddled back over to Mel and Lucas, who were now having a discussion about the opponents.

"Their outfits look familiar." Lucas said

"I know, but I don't know where I've seen them before…"

While Mel tried to recollect her thoughts, Quentin came running over.

"What happened?!" he began "I heard noises but thought it was a wild Pokémon. Then I overheard some other people that you were battling some weirdos with bowl cuts!"

"Oh hey Quinny! I see you're back from shopping." Mel said with a grin "Don't worry about that battle. Lucas and I took care of them!" she added while gesturing over to Lucas who was now tending to his Chimchar

"And who are you?" Quentin questioned with an annoyed look on his face

"I should be asking you that!" Lucas said with a sour look "How do you know Mel?"

"We met in Oreburgh and you?"

"Back at Route 201." Lucas said with a bit of superiority "Mel and I are working _together_ to help Professor Rowan with his research."

Meanwhile, Mel and I had already begun walking over to the Pokémon Center.

"You want to come with us Chimchar?"

Chimchar accepted the invitation and we left Quentin and Lucas outside to "cool down" as Mel put it.

* * *

While Mel was getting a room in the Pokémon Center for us, Chimchar and I were being treated. Mel let out everyone else and I introduced them all to Chimchar. We were having a great time together in the waiting area until Quentin and Lucas came running into the Pokémon Center at high speed.

"Oh yeah Lucas," Mel said without looking up from her book "I already got the nurse to heal Chimchar. He's over there with my other Pokémon." She then said while pointing over to us

Lucas walked over to Chimchar while Quentin went and rested next to Mel. Lucas then followed suit. The three of them then began to discuss what they've done so far. Mel showed Lucas her first badge and he was easily impressed.

"Okay! It's lights out everyone!" the nurse then addressed to everyone in the center.

That meant either go to your rooms or get out. Just then, Professor Rowan came in and took Lucas away. Lucas left with a very sad look on his face and I said my good-byes to Chimchar and Rowan.

"Well come on guys." Mel said while putting her book away "Let's get to our room before the nurse gets mad."

"I'm going to go book myself a room then." Quentin said while he was beginning to walk over to the front desk

"No need!" Mel said while pulling on his arm "I got a quadruple room so you can just stay there with me and my Pokémon. We don't mind so don't worry about it Quinny!"

Quentin didn't disagree with the plan and silently followed Mel to their room.

* * *

"Okay Quinny, you can take that bunk bed while my team will take this side." Mel said while putting Beah and Stan back in their balls

"Just so you know, I keep Sparkle and Pen out for protection," Mel said while looking at us "so you don't have to worry that much while we're here, okay?"

"O-okay then."

In a couple of hours, everyone else soon fell asleep. Once Mel was asleep, Sparkle got up from her spot on the floor and jumped up onto the top bunk of our bed. Seeing as I was doing nothing, I decided to hop up and join her. When I peeked on the bunk, I saw that she was curled up in a ball but was still wide awake. Sparkle then lifted her head and motioned for me to join her. I climbed up reluctantly and then slowly sat down next to her.

"Congrats on that battle Pen." Sparkle said slowly "Chimchar seems like trouble maker though." She then added with a giggle

"He is! There was this one time in the lab when he and I decided to play a trick on Turtwig. We somehow got Turtwig's head on fire and he began to run all over the lab trying to put it out. I threw some water on him but by that point, Turtwig had already passed out." I said with a couple of chuckles here and there

"That sounds like you guys were really close." she then added with a somewhat sad expression

It was then silent between the two of us. We haven't really been alone together since last night. Just thinking about it makes my face a bit hotter. I tried to change the subject but I couldn't really think of anything else.

"Hey Sparkle…" I started off saying "You still need to keep up your part of the deal."

She looked me in the eyes for a few seconds and then looked down.

"Right. But Pen, I also agreed that we would only do that when we're the only ones there. I'll tell you soon, just not now."

"Okay then. You can go and get some sleep. I'll keep watch for now and then we'll trade off."

At first she was going to deny my suggestion until I threw the blanket over her and jumped back down on the floor. Then I heard a thud next to me.

"Why don't we keep watch together?"

Then she threw the blanket over us both.

"Fine. You win this time."

* * *

**Wow, that was fun, right?**

**:D**

**I couldn't stop thinking about how I was gonna end this chapter that I didn't pay any attention to AP Environmental Science today.**

**-.-"**

**Looker didn't have much to say but I was saving room for the battle. :3 Anyway, lately I've been writing longer and longer chapters. This one almost hit 2000 words!**

**:o**

**Talk about progress! Well, see you guys later then.**


	13. Tragedy on Route 204

**I feel really bad about what I'm about to do but it's for the plot. You'll see why later.**

**:(**

**Let's get on with it then. I don't own Pokémon.**

***begins to cry in corner***

* * *

We left the Pokémon Center early in order to get to the next town as quickly as possible. Quentin said the next town should be Floaroma Town but it would take them at least a whole day to get there. Mel, not wanting to waste any time, got us to leave right at 4 am. Right now, we're doing some training on Route 204.

"Come on Beah! Let's go training over there!"

Mel Pointed ad a pretty big patch of grass. Beah nodded and went running over with Mel.

I decided to wait over with Quentin, Sparkle, Stan, and Quentin's Pokémon. It seems that Quentin was thinking if he should catch another Pokémon or not.

"Hmm… It would be good for protection. But what type?"

A couple of more minutes passed until we heard Mel scream in horror.

"What was that?!" Quentin then began running over while dragging his Machop with him.

The rest of us then began to follow.

_What happened?! Oh no! Beah!_

With that thought, I began to run even faster. Once I got there I saw a very badly injured Beah and a passed out Mel behind him. Quentin ran over toward Mel while Sparkle and I went over to help Beah. We saw that they were attacked by a large group of Shinx being led by a much larger Pokémon. It looked like Sparkle but it was much bigger and much fiercer. Just before we could say anything, Beah fainted behind us. We decided to retreat for now and go back to the Pokémon Center. Quentin returned us to our balls and carried Mel on his back the whole way over.

* * *

"What? Where is this?" Mel said while looking around slowly

A nurse walked into the room and said "This is the Jubilife Pokémon Center's treatment room. You're friend over there brought you in."

"Oh right. That Luxray…" but then Mel stopped her sentence and looked over at Quentin and me "Thanks you two."

"No problem but what happened back there?!" by this time the nurse had left already

I decided to walk up to her bed as well and hear the reason.

"Well…" she began slowly "at first Beah and I were on a real winning streak. Then we came across a young Shinx. I wanted to run from the battle but Beah wanted to battle it. It ended up shocking him so I used Rollout on it. Then right before it fainted it let out a large yelp. And then out of nowhere, a bunch more Shinx popped out and began to growl at me. They called out again but this time, a large Luxray came out and it was furious."

_So that was a Luxray? I didn't know those were living in those parts…_

"The Luxray then tried to attack me with a Thunderfang but Beah got in the way and-" then she stopped mid-sentence and looked around frantically

"Where's Beah?! Is he alright?! Take me to him now!"

"But Mel I don't thin-"

"Take me to him now!" Mel shouted very desperately

Quentin and I just looked at each other and decided to bring Mel over to see Beah. We walked down the hall slowly until we reached the intensive care facility.

"Is he…"

"Yes. We haven't been able to see him for the past couple of hours." Quentin answered with a very sad look

Mel was about to cry when I moved over and hugged her hips. I tried my best to reassure her. Just then a nurse exited the intensive care room and Mel rushed over to her.

"How is he?! Is Beah okay?!"

"Calm down miss. Please come with me and I'll explain the situation."

Mel, Quentin and I followed the nurse into the completely white room. In the center of the room laid a bed and on it was Beah. His whole abdomen was covered in bandages and he wasn't looking all that great. But he showed signs of breathing so Mel calmed down a bit. She slowly walked over to Beah's bed and sat in a chair that was by it. Then the nurse began to speak.

"It was a good thing you got him here in time. However, there were a few complications."

"Complications?!" Mel said with a look of horror on her face "What kind of complications?!"

"Well, in the state that he is in now, I don't think he can even withstand a battle. He's going to have to take an early retirement. He could battle again but that would take years of healing and physical therapy."

Mel sat there with a stunned look on her face. I also had one on my face. Why did it have to happen to Beah? He was the first Pokémon that Mel caught. He was the first friend that I made.

Mel looked at Beah for about a minute then asked the nurse "Where do you suggest I send him for that therapy?"

"Well, we don't offer it here. But I know a Professor nearby that can help out. His name is Professor Rowan."

"Rowan? Really? I'll go call him up now then."

"I'll go with you." Quentin said while trailing Mel

Then the nurse left me alone to watch over Beah. I walked over to his bed and sat in the chair. When I looked over to him, I saw that he had just woke up.

"Beah! You're up!"

I was about to hub him when I remembered the wound. I pulled back and Beah tried to sit up.

"So… did you hear the nurse?"

"Yeah. I was awake since Mel entered the room."

"Do you want to go through with that training though? It might be tough for your body."

"I want to show Mel that I can still be strong. I remember that we made a pact with each other that we would grow strong together. I want to fulfill that pact even if we're separated."

"But…"

"No buts!"

I was taken aback by this. Beah hardly ever yelled.

"Ah. Sorry Pen. I want to do this, okay?"

"I'll go inform the others then."

Before I left the room, Beah and I shared a look and bumped fists. I turned and ran out of the room in search of the others.

* * *

When I reached Mel she just got off the phone with Professor Rowan. I found Sparkle and Stan and told about what Beah decided. When I was done informing them, Mel and Beah came back to have one last good bye with us. It was sad but we all promised that we would all come back together. It may not be soon, but it will happen.

"Well, bye Beah." Mel said with a sad look

She picked him up trying hard to not touch his stiches and had one last hug with him. Then she returned Beah to his Pokéball and set it in the transporter. With a press of a button, Beah was gone. He may not be here anymore but he's still in our hearts.

* * *

We traveled back onto Route 204 but we all had heavy hearts. By now it was around lunch time so Quentin cooked up some food for us. While we were waiting for food, Mel ended up walking around with a blank look on her face. We decided not to follow her.

"Well guys, I've finished making lunch." Quentin said while setting everything up

"Pen, could you go get Mel? She shouldn't be too far."

I got up and left to go find my trainer. I found her near a nearby lake just looking out at the water. When I walked near, she noticed me and figured I was here to fetch her. When we got back to the site, we saw something we definitely weren't expecting.

"Help! It won't get off!"

Quentin was running around and had something small and green clinging onto his back. Right when he ran by Mel, she stuck her arm out and peeled the green object off.

"Quinny, it's just a Budew." She said while holding it in his face

"Oh. I thought it was a Zubat or something."

"Quinny, Zubat only come out at night. Anyway, why was this Budew clinging onto you anyway?"

"Well, after making lunch I decided to lay down a bit. When I did, I felt a bump and I thought it was a Pokémon but I didn't know what it was exactly. And then you came and-"

"Yeah I think I get it." then she set the Budew back down on the ground

Once on the ground, the Budew had a freaked out look and began to run around. Once it saw Quentin, it leaped and latched onto his face.

"Geh ihh ohhg ohh meeeeh!"

"It looks like that Budew likes you Quinny." Mel said with a large grin

She walked forward and peeled the Budew off of Quentin's face.

"Budew, do you want to be with Quinny?"

The Budew grinned and hopped onto Quentin's shoulder this time.

"It looks like you've got yourself a new Pokémon, Quinny."

"Looks like it."

Quentin reached into his work bag and pulled out an empty Pokéball and the Budew happily jumped in. Then Mel scanned the newly caught Budew.

"Budew – The Bud Pokémon. Sensitive to changing temperature, the bud is said to bloom when it feels the sun's warm touch."

"Oh wow. So it's a Grass and Poison type?"

"Yup. It also says here that the one you have has the ability Natural Cure and is male. Are you going to nickname it?"

"Nah. If he wants a nickname then I'll give him one. But for now it's just Budew."

"Well, it looks like we're tied then. Time to go!"

As Mel began to run off, Quentin released his new Budew and ran after Mel.

"But what about lunch?!"

* * *

**Why did I have to do that to Beah?! He was SO YOUNG!**

**TT~TT**

**At least he's in a better place now. (Rowan's lab) Anyway, I have Quinny's team all planned out so rest assure that he's gonna get at least 6 Pokémon in total.**

**:D**

**That's it for now. See you next chapter!**


	14. Two New Friends?

**Hey it's Mel again.**

**:D**

**So now we're about to head over to Floaroma Town. But before that, well, I'll let you find out.**

***is being vague on purpose***

**I don't own Pokémon!**

* * *

We finally got through the lower part of Route 204. Quentin said that there was an upper half but that was blocked off by the Ravaged Path. We were told that to get through, we need Rock Smash.

"Well shoot." Mel said while looking through her Pokédex "I don't know which one to teach it to…"

"Let me see it." And Quentin took the HM from Me "I can just teach it to one of my Pokémon."

"But you need a Coal Badge to use it outside of battle!"

Then Quentin rummaged through his pocket and pulled one out.

"I forgot to mention, didn't I? When I was around 12, my dad gave me my first Pokémon. I trained for a bit and earned my first gym battle. Afterward, I decided to stay in Oreburgh for a bit and train."

Mel just looked at the badge in amazement.

"Wait, does this make us rivals then?"

"No don't worry. I feel that I'm not cut out for the Pokémon League. Anyway, I'll just teach this to my Machop then. This won't take too long."

* * *

About thirty minutes later Quentin came back with his Machop. They were looking pretty successful. I guess that it worked.

"It took a while to figure out how these HMs work, but he finally learned it. Let's go then!"

We entered the dark cave and saw only three things: darkness, rocks, and Zubat. We decided to rush our way through seeing that we didn't want to get attacked by Zubat. After wandering around for a bit, Mel let out Sparkle.

"Sparkle, could you use Spark please? That might make it better to see in here…"

Sparkle understood and began to store energy again. Once she was all charged up, she went to the front of the group to lead the way. Quentin had his Machop go up ahead a bit just in case there were rocks blocking the path and I went up just to be next to Sparkle. Soon we reached the end of the tunnel and saw daylight once again. We quickly exited the path and got back on Route 204.

"I wonder if I should catch another Pokémon."

"Why Quinny? You just got a Budew. What would be the point of catching another one now?"

"Then the score would be 4 to 3." he replied while running off with his Machop

"Oh no he didn't! Come on Pen, Sparkle! Let's catch a new friend as well. That'll show him!"

* * *

After almost an hour we meet back together. Quentin and Mel both had this stupid look on their faces. They both agreed to show what they've caught when they got to another Pokémon Center. Mel and Quentin must have both caught a Pokémon and trained it bit. We decided to just move on and go to the next town. After all, it was just a small walk away.

"Do you guys smell that?" Mel said while running ahead a bit

When we passed the gate for Floaroma Town, we were greeted with a great smell. The whole town seemed to be surrounded by fields and fields of flowers.

'That smells just lovely!' Sparkle said while walking up to the closest patch

Mel and Sparkle couldn't seem to leave the flower beds. Quentin and I decided to just drag them to the Pokémon Center.

* * *

After we were healed, Mel and Quentin gathered us in a small corner of the center. The six of us Pokémon began to socialize while Mel began to speak.

"Okay guys, Quentin and I both caught a new Pokémon. It's now time for you guys to meet them!"

Then at the same time, they released their balls. Out of the red stream of light came two figures about the same size. As the light dispersed, the sight left us all in surprise. Standing there were two identical Wurmple.

"What! You caught a Wurmple too?" Mel said disappointed

"Wow, I guess so then."

Mel went and scanned Quentin's Wurmple while she let Fluttershy go and mingle with her other Pokémon.

"Wurmple – The Worm Pokémon. Often targeted by bird Pokémon, it desperately resists by releasing poison from its tail spikes."

"I'm pretty sure your Wurmple is male, Quinny. I checked mine earlier and it said it was a female."

"Huh, well, at least I have a new friend now." Quentin said while picking his Wurmple up

After introductions were over, Mel and Quentin thought they should at least look around the town. Mel left me in charge of the group while they left off further into town. I took everyone outside and we decided to wait in one of the flower beds near the Pokémon Center until our trainers returned.

"It's such a lovely day. Right Pen?" Sparkle asked while rolling in the flowers

"It is. By the way, how are you holding up Flutter?"

Fluttershy popped up out of a patch and looked around until she saw me.

"I'm doing just fine Pen. Mel seems like a great trainer. I hope that with her, I can become strong and evolve like my other siblings!"

Stan flew in and asked "Do you know what you're going to evolve into Flutter?"

"Actually, I don't."

"What do you mean?" I asked "Didn't you just say that your sibling have already evolved?"

"Yeah but I can actually evolve into two forms."

"Really?" Sparkle said while getting up from her position

"Yeah. Some of my siblings became Silcoons and some became Cascoons. Isn't that right Wurmple?"

Just then, Quentin's Wurmple popped out of the field and joined our conversation.

"I don't know about you, but I want to become a Cascoon like my dad."

"I want to be a Silcoon like my mom." Fluttershy added with a smile

"Can't you control what you evolve into?" Sparkle asked

"I don't think so." Wurmple responded "I think it's random. But I think we're pretty close to evolving."

_I really want to see how this turns out…_

* * *

Afterwards Mel and Quentin came back with some new supplies and said that we were going to move on ahead. As we walked towards Route 205, we saw a small girl that was crying. Instantly, Mel went to comfort her. The girls said something about her dad and the Valley Windworks.

"Quinny, you stay here with her while I go and see what's going on at the Windworks. Come on Pen."

As Mel and I approached the Valley Windworks, we saw that at the door was a familiar person. The man looked just like the guys we defeated in Jubilife yesterday. We went on ahead to ask him what he was doing there. Before we knew it, we were in a Pokémon battle.

_Oh great. Not __**another**__ Glameow!_

However, Mel didn't use me. She went and sent out Fluttershy. I felt a bit sad but I figured she needed some training. However, after getting hit a couple of times, Mel switched Fluttershy out for Stan and he ended up winning. As the guy went back into the building, he mumbled something about a Valley Windworks card. We then began to run back to Floaroma Town.

"Mel! What happened?" Quentin asked while we ran by

"No time! I'll be back soon!"

By the time we got back to town, it was already night time. We found an entrance to a meadow in the North West end of town. I remember that there were two suspicious guys standing there just this afternoon.

"Look! More of those grunts!" Stan said while entering the meadow

He was right. There were two more of those grunts harassing a man. Mel stepped forward and challenged them. Before anyone could send out their Pokémon however, Quentin came in and decided to help out.

"Quinny! Where's the little girl!"

"Don't worry. I left her with the nurse in the Pokémon Center."

"Fine whatever. Let's just battle now."

The battle began. Since Quentin joined, so did the other grunt. One of them sent out a Stunky and the other sent out a Zubat. Both Mel and Quentin brought out their Wurmple.

_I hope this goes well…_

* * *

After about half way through the battle, Mel and Quentin finally took down the grunt's Stunky. They used a combo of Tackle, Poison Sting and String Shot. They decided to switch their Wurmple out with Sparkle and Budew.

"Let's finish this!"

As Budew used Asorb, Sparkle went in with a Spark and knocked out one of the Zubat. Then the grunt sent out one more Zubat but it went down just like the one before it. When the two grunts left, they said something about Galactic and the Windworks. Behind them, they left the key to the Windworks so Mel decided to pick it up.

"Before we head over, let's go get Fluttershy and your Wurmple all healed up."

"Good idea."

* * *

We rested at the Pokémon Center for about five minutes. Once Mel got Fluttershy's ball back, she came running over towards us.

"Come on out Fluttershy."

"You too Wurmple."

Both Bug Pokémon came out of their balls with slight smiled. Just then, both of them began to glow simultaneously. They didn't really grow like the rest of us. All they did was curl up and begin to coat themselves with String Shot.

"I guess that last battle was enough for them." Mel said while pulling out her Pokédex

"I guess so…"

* * *

**And that's it for this chapter.**

**:D**

**Yes, I did name my Wurmple Fluttershy. (I'm a MLP fan, remember?)**

**Anyway, I'll save what they evolve into for the next chapter. The thing is I always get tense when I catch a Wurmple. Whenever I hope it evolves into a Silcoon, I usually get a Cascoon and vice versa.**

**-.-"**

**So the fact that I name them something that pertains to their final evolution gets ruined. I hope others know what I'm talking about.**

**TT~TT**


	15. Vs Mars

**No time for intros! Let's hurry this up!**

**I don't own Pokémon!**

* * *

As the glowing began to disappear we were met with two new Pokémon. However, they looked different from each other. One was a bright white while the other was slightly purple.

"Oh wow!" Mel said while scanning them both

"Silcoon – The Cocoon Pokémon. It wraps silk around the branches of a tree. It drinks rainwater on its silk while awaiting evolution."

"Cascoon – The Cocoon Pokémon. It never forgets any attack it endured while in the cocoon. After evolution, it seeks payback."

_Oh wow… They were right. Two completely different evolutions…_

"Come here Fluttershy." Mel said while holding her arms out

Then after a couple seconds of hesitation, the Silcoon began to slowly hop forward. Mel sweated at the fact and decided that it would be faster to just pick her up. Quentin then went foreward and picked up his new Cascoon.

"Look at that Fluttershy! You've become a beautiful Silcoon."

"Hey Mel. Does your Pokédex say what they'll evolve into next?"

"No, we have to discover that for ourselves. But hey, it's more fun that way, right?"

After returning everyone to their balls, minus me and Quentin's Budew, we set off to go check out the Valley Windworks.

* * *

As we were about to enter the Windworks, the little girl from earlier came running up to us.

"Where's my daddy?!"

"I'm working on it, okay? Quinny, you watch over her."

Then Mel let out Sparkle and the three of us began to enter the Windworks.

"I don't know. Let her play with your Pokémon or something."

Once we entered, we saw the same guy we beat earlier outside with the Glameow.

"What are you doing in here? How did you get in? I thought I locked the door!"

Then he ran down the hall and made a sharp right.

"Might as well follow him. Come on guys."

As we turned the corner we came across another grunt. He saw surprised at first but then he pulled out a ball.

'Alright! I finally get to-'

"Go get him Sparkle!"

I just fell over once I heard this. I really wanted to battle too.

It was a quick victory so we decided to keep moving. We came across a large room with giant pieces of machinery. We decided to ignore them and continue moving. But then we were stopped by another grunt. This time, I went into battle first. After defeating this grunt, we continued to walk towards the right until we saw someone else. She wasn't dressed like the other grunts. She had red hair instead of the average blue and she also wore a dress. She also had the same yellow symbol on her front.

"She must be the commander or something…" Mel whispered while moving closer

"Oh what do we have here?"

"That's the one I was telling you about! She's the one that beat all of the others!"

Mel approached the woman and asked "Who are you? What are you guys? What are you trying to accomplish here?!"

"Well, _we _are Team Galactic and I'm one of Team Galactic's three Commanders, Mars! We've been trying to create a new world that's better than this one... But people have shown little understanding about what we do. You don't understand either, do you? It's a little saddening... So, let's have a battle to decide what we should do next. If I win, you leave. If you win, we, Team Galactic, will leave!"

They began to glare at each other silently. Then at the same time, they reached for a ball and began to battle.

"Go Stan!"

"Go my Zubat!"

"Stan! Use Quick Attack!"

Stan then quickly attacked the enemy Zubat but it wasn't enough to knock it out.

"What do you think you're doing to my Pokémon?! Zubat use Toxic!"

Then in that instant, Stan was poisoned. But something was different. It's as if he was injected with twice the amount than normal. He was badly poisoned.

"Stan can you keep battling?!"

Stan looked over to Mel and gave her a large nod.

"Then let's finish this up. Use Wing Attack!"

Stan dealt the final blow and the enemy Zubat fainted. He might have been hurt by the poison but he was able to do it.

"Stan! Come back. I'll switch you out with Pen. You did great."

Finally it was my turn! I jumped out of the sidelines and into the battle field. Then, Mars sent out a large, fat looking Glameow.

Mel scanned the Pokémon and it read "Purugly – The Tiger Cat Pokémon. It binds its body with its tails to make itself look bigger. If it locks eyes, it will glare ceaselessly."

Mel and I looked at each other and shared the same look and most likely the same thought as well.

_It definitely is Pur-UGLY!_

That thought aside, we were ready to beat the large enemy. But before Mel could give me a command, it went on ahead and began to slap me.

_Not Fake Out again! I keep falling for that!_

"Pen! Use your BubbleBeam!"

"Use Faint Attack."

Despite Mel calling out her attack first, the Purugly got to me first. After her attack hit, I went full out and hit her with my BubbleBeam but she wouldn't back down.

_She's pretty fast! I need to end this soon!_

"Pen! Another BubbleBeam!"

"Use Scratch."

Then the enemy Purugly pounced forward and slashed me across the abdomen.

"Pen! Are you okay?!"

I tried to use BubbleBeam but nothing came out. I tried one more time but nothing happened. I felt a bit different though.

"Pen! Try BubbleBeam again!" Mel said frantically

"Is that your only attack? Use Faint Attack."

As the Purugly came in I tried to doge the attack. I was hit once again. This time I was knocked away a couple of feet and I was finding it hard to get back up. I tried to use my BubbleBeam but nothing came out. Is something wrong with me?!

"Pen!"

"Purugly. Finish this with Scratch."

However, despite the enemy's speed, my body moved first. I released a strange amount of energy. One that I didn't know I had. It's as if I took all the blows of my enemy and released it back at the Purugly two-fold.

"Was-was that an attack?" Mel said taken aback

"This can't be?! I lost?! You... you uppity brat!"

The enemy Purugly fell and her trainer returned her to her ball.

"Oops! I messed that one up! That's all right, though. I quite enjoyed our battle. I guess it's time to say good-bye and leave for the time being!"

The woman and all of her grunts left afterwards.

"Team Galactic huh…"

Just then, Quentin and the little girl came running into the building.

"Papa!"

She then leapt into her father's arms and they had sweet reunion. After her came Quentin. He was covered in scratches and was out of breath.

"What happened to you?"

"I'll *pant* tell ya *pant* later."

"Well, let's go back to the Pokémon Center and you can tell me there."

* * *

"Seriously?!"

"Yeah. It just came out of nowhere. I had to something."

"Wow, you're like an awesome older brother! Wait a minute… That means your beating me now!"

"Excuse me ma'am." a nurse from behind called out "Your Pokémon are all healed up."

"Oh thank you!"

Mel brought us back to our designated corner and released all four of us.

"Quinny, I think you should go get your Pokémon healed up after what happened today."

"Good idea. I'll be back soon."

"Stan, how are you feeling? Is the poison all out of your system?"

Stan looked up and chirped happily. Mel just smiled and offered him a berry.

"Now that I think about it Pen, I think you learned a new move."

_I did? I guess that must have been that one that ended that battle._

Mel then proceeded to scan me in order to check out my move set.

"It looks like you've forgotten Pound and learned Bide!"

_Bide?_

'That move looked pretty powerful Pen.' Stan said after finishing his berry

"It says here that it deals twice the damage inflicted upon the Pokémon that attacked you. Wow that will come in handy."

"Hey guys, did I miss anything?" asked Quentin while popping out from behind the sofa

"Pen learned Bide! Well, I'm gonna go book us a room. Quinny, can you get us some dinner?"

"Sure."

* * *

**I'm sorry. I couldn't think of anything else for the ending.**

**=.=**

**As for Fluttershy, it was EXTREME luck that she evolved into a Silcoon.**

**XD**

**Anyway, for Quinny's story of events, turn to my stand alone story "Quentin's Adventure Log"**

**-ALERT-**

**You ****MUST**** read that stand alone if you don't want to be confused in future chapters! (This means that it's necessary for the plot)**

**The only reason I didn't include it here is because, well, Pen wasn't there.**


	16. The Journey Down Route 205

**Mel here! I might be updating faster seeing as it's a four day weekend.**

**:3**

**Anyway, time for chapter 16!**

**I don't own Pokémon.**

* * *

"To Route 205 guys!"

One by one, we all marched after Mel. Mel was holding Fluttershy while Quentin carried Budew on his head and Cascoon in his arms. The rest of us followed after our respective trainers.

"Don't you think you're spoiling your Budew a bit Quinny?"

"No. I hear that they get stronger when they have a good relationship with their trainers so I'm trying my best to be Budew's best friend. Isn't that right Budew?"

"Bud bud!"

"Whatever. Anyway, I'm still not forgiving you for one-upping me yesterday."

"Are you still angry about Shellos?!"

"No, forget it. Come on guys! I want to get to Eterna Forest fast."

'She's always in a rush isn't she?' Sparkle said while speeding up her pace to match Mel and I

'Well Sparkle, Mel and I just _really _want to continue getting stronger!'

* * *

"Mel…" Quentin called out with a pant

"Huh, what?"

"Can we stop here for breakfast? The Pokémon are still a bit tired."

"Fine. Let's get set up then!"

As our trainers began to set up for breakfast, the other eight of use went to play by a nearby Honey tree. Budew wouldn't come off of Quentin's head so we went off without him. Stan flew up to the top while Fluttershy and Cascoon hung themselves from a nearby branch. Sparkle, Shellos, Geodude, Machop and I made a little circle on the floor and decided to talk while waiting.

"So Shellos, how do you like the group so far?" Sparkle said trying to start a conversation

"It's pretty cool. Although, I miss my friends just a bit." He said while looking out towards the river

"Don't worry." Machop said while giving Shellos a reassuring pat on the back "If you have any troubles or worries, come to us."

"Thanks."

Just then Mel and Quentin came over to invite us to breakfast. Stan carried Flutershy and Cascoon while the rest of us followed suit. When we got to the site, Budew was waiting there keeping an eye on the food. When we were all there, we sat in our usual spots.

* * *

"Guys, I think I'm gonna go train."

"But Quinny, you just ate! That and your Pokémon still need to digest-"

"Relax, I'm only gonna train for a bit. Come on Budew, Shellos."

Shellos and Budew then went to Quentin's side and they disappeared into the tall grass.

"Have fun! Well guys, we might as well clean up, right?"

We started to clean off the plates. Mel, Sparkle and Fluttershy brought the dirty dishes to the river to clean while I and the other guys had the task of finishing left over food and throwing out the trash. Just when we finished eating the last piece of food, Shellos came as fast as he could.

"Guys! Something's going on with Budew!"

"I'll go get Mel!"

I then ran over to the river's edge and tried to pull Mel away.

"What's up Pen? Something wrong?"

Not being able to communicate that well, I just pointed at the tall grass.

"Let's go check it out then."

* * *

"Quinny? You around here?"

"I'm over here Mel! You've got to see this!"

Mel and I heightened our pace and met up with Quentin.

"Budew just evolved!"

"Wow! Your right!" Mel said while pulling out her Pokédex to scan the new Pokémon

"Roselia – The Thorn Pokémon. The more healthy the Roselia, the more pleasant its flowers' aroma. Its scent deeply relaxes people."

"Wow, Roselia huh?" Mel said while putting her Pokédex away

Quentin then picked up his Roselia and examined his whole body.

"I wonder if you'll still fit on my head…"

"That depends. Can you hold over four pounds on your head?"

"Guess not…"

We went back to the others and introduced Roselia to everyone. While Mel and Quentin were discussing different types of evolution, we were discussing how it actually feels. I walked away a bit after Stan started teasing Machop though. Sparkle looked over to where I went and left the large group as well to sit near me.

"It looks like everyone is just evolving now, aren't they?"

"Yeah. I remember the time when I thought I would never evolve."

"Don't worry, most of us have one more evolution to go."

This time I let her comment slide. I don't even know that much about evolution but I'm pretty sure Sparkle is still hiding something.

_Let's try it one more time. If it doesn't work then I'll try again later tonight…_

I spent about five minutes in order to think of how I could bring it up. In that time, Sparkle just kept talking at me.

"I heard that in order to get to the next town, we need to go through the forest. There are a bunch of Bug-types in forests. Do you think Mel will catch a new Pokémon there?"

Instead of answering, I just gave her a long look. Sparkle noticed and gazed back. Then she turned her head and began to walk off.

"I understand. Only once we're in the forest though, okay?"

I nodded back and then we walked back to regroup with our trainers.

* * *

"It looks like there's a high road and a low road. Which one should we take Mel?"

"Hmmm… Let's just take the high road. It should have a great view."

At this time the only ones out of their balls were Roselia and I. We walked in front of our respective trainers the whole hike up. Along the way we battled quite a few trainers until it was lunch time. By this time, we were close to the forest but we were very worn out.

"You want to rest here?" Quentin started while looking at the surroundings

"How about we ask the owner of that house where we should head next?"

"Good idea."

As we approached the house, we heard a small commotion inside. Mel and I burst in first and then came Quentin and Roselia.

"Bye mom!" said a little boy as he pushed Mel and I out of the way

"Wait!" the mother then said while shoving Quentin and Roselia in a similar manner

_Ouch…_

"Oh my! Are you all right?! Come in and rest up!"

We followed the woman in and she offered us lunch. Then she told Mel and Quentin to rest their Pokémon. After we were all healed up, Mel and the mother began to talk.

"She said that Eterna Forest is up ahead. We should get there by night fall."

"Let's go then."

Mel and Quentin then put everyone back into their balls and we walked north towards the forest.

* * *

As we entered the dense forest, we found that it looked like it was very easy to get lost in. Roselia and I entered first to make sure that there weren't any dangers ahead.

"Keep close guys. We don't want to get separated in this place." Quentin added while taking in the surroundings.

We decided to take the path to the left seeing as it had less grass to walk through. Just as we made the turn we heard a small squeak.

"Ummm… Excuse me!"

The four of us turned to meet the source of the unfamiliar voice. There we saw a tall woman with long green hair. She wore a green dress and brown boots.

"Hello, my name's Cheryl. And you are...?"

"Oh I'm Mel and this is Quentin, my travelling companion slash good friend."

"OK, so your name is Mel. I'm sincerely glad to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too Cheryl."

"Mel, may I ask a big favor of you? I want to get through this forest, but I'm afraid of doing it alone. I've heard that there is a sinister group of people called Team Galactic about. I think there'd be safety in numbers. Please, may I go through with you? I'll keep your Pokémon in perfect health."

"What do you think Quinny?"

"Well, I'm fine with it I guess."

"Welcome to the team then Cheryl!"

"Thank you very much."

* * *

**This one took me a while to write.**

**-.-**

**You want to know the reason?**

**_WRITER'S BLOCK!_**

**It's sad but true. Anyway, I'm sorry I just copied what Cheryl said in the game but I can't think straight right now.**

**o.o"**

**I'll try to be original next chapter.**


	17. Travese the Forest

**Mel again with Chapter 17!**

**:D**

**Anyway, last chapter I brought in Cheryl but like in the games, we split when we get to the exit. I actually really ****_hate _****her but for reasons I will explain at the end. For now, let's get on with the show!**

**I don't own Pokémon!**

* * *

After joining up with Cheryl, we started to move much slower. I guess it's because Mel doesn't want to move through the forest to fast. Roselia and I looked back to the group to see that they were looking a bit exhausted. We stopped in our tracks and turned back to join our trainers. They found a field to rest in so we decided to take a small break there.

"So Cheryl, what Pokémon do you have on hand?" Mel said after we found a place to sit

"All I have right now is my Chansey. I got her from my father as a Happiny when I was a little girl. What about you two?"

"I have a Machop, Geodude, Roselia, Cascoon, and Shellos. I've been with Machop and Geodude for years now but I just recently caught everyone else."

"And I have a Prinplup, Staravia, Luxio, and Silcoon. I received Pen from Professor Rowan a while back. I had a Bibarel but… well… he's not able to be here at the moment."

"Oh my, I'm sorry for your loss-"

"Oh no! He's just in therapy right now. I promised that I would go visit him after I get my second or third gym badge."

"So you're a trainer then?"

"Yeah. Pen was my first Pokémon that I got so we formed a pact. We've been trying hard to be the best that we can be. Right now we only have one gym badge but we plan on earning them all."

"That's wonderful. I wish I had the confidence to do something grand as that."

Quentin looked around then said "It looks pretty dark now. We should move ahead a bit more until dinner time."

"Okay then. Come on Pen."

As we walked farther north we found a nice place to rest. It was near a large, moss covered rock. We found the area to be nice and isolated so we began to set up camp there. Mel, Quentin and Cheryl then released the rest of their Pokémon. Mostly everyone went to greet Cheryl's Chansey but I decided to just hang out around the mossy rock.

"Nice night out isn't it?"

I turned a bit to see Sparkle standing right next to me. I was taken back a bit but I somehow regained my composure.

"It is." I managed to say

"Let's move over to the entrance of the forest for tonight."

Then Sparkle walked over to join the others.

_I might as well go over as well._

* * *

"So Chansey," Stan started out "how long have you and Cheryl been travelling?"

"Oh just recently actually. When we heard about that Team Galactic Cheryl almost decided to go back home. And then your trainers came along."

"Do you know what kind of Pokémon there are here in the forest?" I asked while looking around

"Actually, Cheryl and I haven't even entered the tall grass so I'm not sure. But I think there are some Cascoon and Silcoon in here."

"Really? Well it is a forest so there should be Bug-types in here."

"I hope that there are more Pokémon here other than Bug-types. How can we get stronger if we fight all these weak Pokémon?" Stan said with a slightly irritated face "Oh, no offense Flutter, Cas."

"Non taken." Fluttershy added with a smile "Afterall, wild Cascoon and Silcoon only know one move."

"Really?" Chansey said in surprise

Sparkle looked over towards the trainers and then back at us.

"Hey guys, they started serving dinner. I think we should head over-"

And before she could finish her sentence, everyone immediately ran over to the dinner site in a crazy frenzy. The only ones left were Sparkle and I.

"Let's go too then."

Sparkle and I got up together and turned towards the site. We followed the others side by side and joined everyone else for dinner.

* * *

After dinner our trainers began to set up their tents. Since Cheryl and Quentin didn't bring their tents along, Mel decided to share hers.

"You girls can sleep inside. I'll just sleep outside with Pen and Sparkle."

"Are you sure Quinny?"

"No problem. Goodnight you two."

Sparkle and I followed Quentin and sat around while he set up his sleeping bag near the side of the tent. Sparkle and I sat in complete silence while we waited for Quentin to fall asleep. All you could hear were the cries of Hoothoot and the clacking of Kricketot.

"I think he's asleep." Sparkle whispered while examining the sleeping trainer

"Let's go then."

We walked together heading for the entrance but decided that we should stay close by the tent in case something like last time happened. We sat down facing each other in a small clearing close by the site but not too far off. Night continued to close in on us as we sat in silence. For a while no one spoke. I was just waiting for Sparkle to begin. I looked over to her and she took in a deep breath. The air was cold and frigid but I couldn't feel it as much. Sparkle then leaned into me causing my temperature to rise once more.

"Where should I begin Pen?"

"How about where you came from? That would be nice to hear."

"That's a good place to start I guess."

She took in another large breath and began.

"I don't really remember much from when I hatched but I do remember where I spent most of my childhood. I was raised by two Luxio far off on Route 202."

"But I thought that you were from Route 202!"

"Yes and no. It's a bit complicated Pen. But anyway, back to the story. I was born on Route 222. I still remember the sounds of the ocean. Every night I would fall asleep to the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore. It was nice and peaceful back then. That is until…"

She paused. Obviously what happened to her next was something terrible. But what could it be? In an unsure voice I managed to ask her to continue.

"Until?"

"Until… Until _he _happened."

Sparkle looked away for a moment. She had a look of fear and grief upon her face.

_He? Who is __**he**__? A past friend? A past… I don't even want to think about it…_

Sparkle held back her tears and looked back at me. She pulled on a straight face trying her hardest to not let any unnecessary emotion. She took one final deep breath and spoke in a flat, emotionless tone.

"His name was Trey. He was my original trainer."

* * *

**Decided to end it there! I know this one is a bit short but I wanted Sparkle to have the next chapter to herself.**

**:D**

**I usually write four to five pages but this time, I was having a bit of trouble. I reached one thousand and two hundred words this chapter but I normally hit at least one thousand five hundred. Anyway, now that I'm finished with this, I can ****_finally _****update!**

**:3**

**As for why I hate Cheryl is mostly because she would kill any Pokémon I wanted to catch.**

**-.-**

**I remember trying so hard to catch a female Buneary but whenever I come across a Buneary they're either male or she kills them.**

***screams out in rage and shakes fist toward the sky***

**Anyway, I'll see you all next chapter!**


	18. Sparkle's Past

**So here is Chapter 18!**

**^.^**

**I've been getting with reviews lately from a person that goes by the name "A pokemon fan" I want to say thank you and all reviews are welcome even if you're anonymous!**

**:D**

**I don't own Pokémon!**

* * *

"His name was Trey. He was my original trainer."

_Original trainer? Does that mean…_

"Yes, I was released. Actually, it happened the day before I was caught. I remember the first time I met up with Trey."

"What happened? Why did he let you go?"

"Well, he didn't say exactly but I think I know why. It was because I wasn't strong enough."

* * *

_~Route 222~_

It was a nice sunny day today. I woke up pretty early and felt like playing in the tall grass. I ran up to my mom and woke her up.

"Mama! Can I go out and play today?"

"Wha? You know the rules Panna, you can only go out if there are no trainers in sight."

I quickly did a brief look over of the field I usually played in. The sun was just rising and there was a thin fog everywhere. I couldn't see that far but I assumed it was safe.

"It's all clear mama! Can I go now?"

"I guess it's okay. Just come back when the fog clears up, okay?"

"Okay mama!"

I ran out of our den and into the tall grass. It was really tall so I figured I would get a lot of cover from it.

_I guess I'll go visit Tin first and see if he wants to play._

I ran over towards the edge to find the spot where Tin always stayed. Tin was another Shinx like me but he was the son of my parent's good friends. We've been friends since we were hatched.

_Just as I thought. Still sleeping. Well, it is pretty early, I guess I'll play with him later._

I looked out of the grass to see a sign post and an empty road. I always wanted to play on the beach but mama never wanted me to leave the tall grass.

_It's not like there are any trainers out there. It is almost dawn so the only ones out should be fisherman but they could care less for a little Shinx like me._

Gathering up all of my courage I left the tall grass. I looked around to make sure the road was clear.

_Now's my chance!_

I ran full speed towards the beach. I almost made it to the steps when I felt something hit me. It wasn't a small nudge, it was like they were trying to really injure me. I got knocked over to the side of the road and passed out.

"Are you alright?"

I woke up on a large fluffy thing. When I looked around there was white everywhere. I kept searching until I found the sun. Once I saw it I jumped off of the soft surface and jumped toward the exit. But while in mid-jump, I was caught by something.

"Oh no you don't! I found you so now you're mine!"

I looked at the face of my captor to see a young trainer. He was wearing a white suit that matched the thing I was on earlier and he had this slightly irritated look on his face.

_I'm his? Wait does that mean he captured me! Oh no! I need to get back home!_

I began to struggle in his arms trying my best to escape his grip. He wasn't letting go so I gave him a little Spark.

"Ouch! Why did you do that?! I just wanted to be your friend…" he said with tears welling in his eyes

I then stopped struggling and let him continue to hold me.

_I guess I can be with him for now…_

He then brought me into another room where, what I assumed, his parents were.

"Mom, Dad look! I got a Pokémon!"

The larger man walked forward and patted me on the head.

"A Shinx huh? Good job my boy."

"Thanks dad! Okay then Shinx, you are my new Pokémon. So be a good boy and listen to me."

_Boy?! I look like a boy to you?!_

With that I gave him another Spark.

"What was that for?!"

The woman walked forward and took a long look at me.

"Son, this Shinx is female." she said while pointing at my paws

"Really? Huh, I'm sorry for assuming you were a boy then Shinx."

"Why don't you go out and play with your new Shinx son?"

"Okay then mom!"

For the next month Trey and I were inseparable. We were never apart from each other. Together we learned about the extensive land of Sinnoh. We would travel frequently and visit many different places. It was fun but all good things come to an end I guess.

"Hey rich boy!"

Trey and I turned to find a young boy around the same age as Trey. He had short green hair and wore a brownish jumpsuit.

"What do you want Allen?"

"A battle, what else? What are you not up for it?!"

To be honest I never liked battling but Trey would always put me in them. I didn't like to fight others but I also didn't want Trey to be disappointed in me.

"Fine then! Let's battle!"

Trey only had me so I was put out while Allen sent out a Gastly.

_Oh no… I hope I can pull this off._

"You can take down this loser, right Gastly?"

The battle was long and tough but in the end, I didn't make it. I woke up later in the Pokémon Center with Trey standing near my bedside. He didn't say anything when we were walking back home. Suddenly he stopped and turned to me. He pulled out my Pokéball and held it out for quite a bit.

_Does he want me to return?_

I began to walk forward but then he suddenly threw the Pokéball on the ground.

_What is he-_

Trey then went to the side of the road and grabbed a large stone. He threw the stone onto the Pokéball and kept on smashing it.

_I don't understand! What is he doing?!_

I ran over towards him bet he wacked me away with all his strength.

"Get away from me you _failure_!"

_Failure? But I did the best I-_

"Go away!"

Trey then picked up as many rocks as he could and began to throw them at me.

_But Trey!? I don't under-_

"GO AWAY NOW!"

The rocks kept pelting me more and more. I did the only thing I could think of. I ran. I now understood why mother never liked humans. I turned back one last time to see that Trey was still looking for more stones. I looked away and just ran. I didn't know where I was heading or even where I was but all I knew was I had to run. I had to.

I eventually found myself on Route 202. I didn't know how I got there but I glad to find a place to stay. I found a large patch of grass to stay in. I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to see a trainer ever again. Just then I heard rustling in the grass around me.

"Oh hey! A new Pokémon!"

I was met face to face with a female trainer. Before I could react she pulled out a Pokéball and we were in a battle. The battle was fierce but in the ended she ended up capturing me.

"Hi there! My name is Mel. I hope we can become good friends Shinx. Hmmm… Your tail looks like a spark… I'll call you Sparkle! Do you like it?"

* * *

I sat there just speechless. I looked over at Sparkle to see that she was still holding in her tears. I placed my flipper over her back and pulled her in closer.

"It-it's okay if you cry. Just let it out Sparkle."

"Thank you Pen."

The rest of the night Sparkle cried in my flippers. I couldn't think of anything I could do to console her. All I could do is lend her a shoulder. A shoulder that she can rely upon.

* * *

The next morning everyone was up and about. Sparkle didn't want anyone to see her eyes so she pretended to be asleep. Mel, believing her act, returned her into her Pokéball.

"Thanks for keeping watch Pen. You return too. I'll have Stan out first so you and Sparkle can rest for now."

I shook my head and insisted on staying out.

"Are you sure?"

_Yes I am! Big, strong Prinplups like me can stay awake for long periods of time!_

Somehow she knew what I was trying to tell her.

"Fine. Have it your way. Quinny, are we ready to go?"

"I believe so. Are you ready Cheryl?"

"Oh yes. Thank you two very much."

We began to walk east trying our best to get out of the forest before the end of the day. Along the way, Mel decided to go and catch a new Pokémon.

"What caught your interest Mel?" Quentin asked while Mel and I were rummaging through the tall grass

"Well, while cleaning up this morning I saw the most adorable Pokémon! I just had to catch it!"

"Is that it over there?" Cheryl said while pointing to a brown Pokémon

"Yeah that's it!"

Mel pulled out her Pokédex and scanned the Pokémon.

"Buneary – The Rabbit Pokémon. Its ears are always rolled up. They can be forcefully extended to shatter even a large boulder."

"So cute! I have to catch you now! Let's go Pen!"

_~Fifteen Minutes Later~_

"I caught Buneary! Oh my gosh! What should I name her?"

Mel released her new Buneary and began to examine her.

"You're like a rare gem in a dank, musty cave. I'll call you Rarity!"

_At least she's getting better with the names…_

Rarity looked back at Mel and just turned around, ignoring her completely.

"Huh? Do you not like the name or do you not like me?"

Mel pulled out her Pokédex to see that Buneary have a friendship level of zero when caught by a new trainer.

"Oh I see now. I need to work for your love and affection. Well, that's just what I'll do. From now on Rarity, let's be the best of friends!"

Mel picked her up but Rarity made an irritated face and hopped away.

"I will earn your love Rarity! Just you wait!"

_This might take a while…_

* * *

**Poor Sparkle.**

**;.;**

**Why did I have to do that to you? Wait, I've been planning this since Chapter 1.**

**(._.")**

**Anyway, meet Rarity! She ****_will_**** become important later on so pay attention!**

**:D**

***cough* *cough* squarethingsoff *cough* *cough***


	19. Farewell Cheryl

**Hey! I'm back with Chapter 19!**

**:D**

**We should be out of the forest now so everything is going according to schedule.**

**:3**

**I don't own Pokémon!**

* * *

We finally reached the end of the forest. It was still day, in fact, it was around lunch time. As we neared the exit Cheryl began to slow her pace.

"Mel, Quentin, I want to thank you both for escorting me through the forest."

"It was nothing big Cheryl. Quinny and I were glad to be of help, right?"

"Of course! It was nothing Cheryl."

"These are my tokens of appreciation. Please accept them!"

Cheryl reached into her bag and pulled out two small bells. She handed one to Mel and the other to Quentin.

"Wow! What are these?"

"Those are Soothe Bells. I was told that if you were to give them to a Pokémon, it would make them friendlier."

"Oh wow! Thank you Cheryl!"

"It was nothing. I'm sure we'll meet again somewhere! Bye for now!"

We all waved good bye to Cheryl as she exited the forest. It was a bittersweet goodbye but we decided to continue on. As we emerged from the forest we found ourselves on Route 205 once again.

"Hey Quinny, since it's almost lunch time do you want to set up around here?"

"There's a nice spot over there by the edge of the lake."

"Then let's go! Come on Pen!"

We rushed to the spot and immediately began to unpack. Mel and Quentin both released all of their Pokémon to relax. I noticed that Sparkle was looking a lot better than I last saw her. Before I could go over to her, Rarity came over to me and began to hide nervously.

"Oh right, no one knows you yet Rarity." I said while looking over everyone's confused faces

"Is that a new friend?" Fluttershy said while hopping up and down

"Actually yeah, she is. Say hi to your new friends Rarity." I said trying to introduce her "From left to right are Stan, Fluttershy and Sparkle. They, including you and I, are part of Mel's party. Machop, Shellos, Roselia, Geodude, and Cascoon are Quentin's Pokémon."

Shyly, Rarity moved out from behind me and began to introduce herself.

"He-hello… My name is Rarity. It's nice to meet you all."

Just then, Mel came over to check on us.

"Rarity! I've got something for you!"

Mel then pulled out her Soothe Bell and placed it in Rarity's paws.

"I hope that this will make our relationship a bit better. If you have any problems, just talk to Pen or I, okay?"

Mel then went back to help out Quentin with lunch. Rarity began to observe the Soothe Bell. She had a slight smile until she looked up and made eye contact with me.

"You seem to like it."

"N-no way!"

Rarity began to bound away until she made contact with a tree. Then she just got back up and continued to hop.

_Interesting girl…_

* * *

After lunch we decided to continue heading east. There were two paths ahead. One covered with tall grass and the other was a bridge across the small lake. As we crossed we passed by about five fisherman but we decided not to bother them.

"I think that's Eterna City guys! Let's go run and see Pen!"

Mel ran ahead while Quentin, Roselia and I just continued to walk. I decided that I might as well keep up with my trainer so I ran ahead as well. By the time I caught up with her we were just at the entrance of Eterna City.

"Hey Quinny! Hurry up! If we hurry then we could go sightseeing!"

"Coming! Just wait up a bit!"

Quentin and Roselia soon came into view. Once we were reunited, we decided to stop by the Pokémon Center. As we entered, Mel and Quentin turned us over to the nurse to get healed.

"So, you're the newbie, right?" Stan said while walking up to Rarity

"What's it to you?" she replied back in a sour tone

I stepped in to say "Hey, we're just trying to be friends here. Don't mind Stan." I then leaned in a bit more "He could be a grump sometimes but he's a really nice guy."

Rarity suddenly moved away from Stan and me. Then she walked over to Sparkle and Fluttershy to join their conversation.

_Why do they always flock together? Oh well, whatever…_

* * *

While in the Pokémon Center, Mel was talking to a woman there. Apparently she was distributing a Pokétch App. After receiving it, Mel thanked the woman and came over to us in a hurry.

"Okay everyone! Get in line. I'm going to test out this new app!"

"What is it?" Quentin asked while looking at the watch screen

"This, my friend, is the Friendship Checker! It measures the level of friendship between you and your Pokémon!"

"Really? Well, try it out then!"

"Okay. Let's start off with Pen…"

Mel touched the screen of her Pokétch and she and Quentin gazed in awe.

"Wow! What does that mean?"

"I don't know. Let me check the description…"

After reading about the app for a bit, Mel finally informed us about my reading. She walked over to me and picked me up with ease. I may be a bit heavier but she carried me like I was still a Piplup.

"Pen, do you know what the Friendship Checker read?"

I shook my head and shot back a confused look.

"It said that we're the best of friends right now." Mel said with a large grin "I hope that we can continue being friends and let our hearts grow."

Mel and I hugged for about a minute until she decided it was time to place me down. Then she scanned Stan.

"Wow Stan! You have the same rating as Pen!"

Mel then held her arm out for Stan to perch upon. He gladly took the offer and flew up. After their moment together, Mel proceeded to scan Sparkle. Her rating was the same. Sparkle and Mel also had a touching moment of hugs and then it was time to scan Fluttershy. Fluttershy's result was a bit lower than us but that was to be expected.

"Okay Rarity, it's your turn now."

When Mel scanned Rarity and touched her screen, Rarity moved away from her touch.

"What does that mean?" Quentin said after seeing the screen

"It means that her friendship isn't high enough. I hope I can get her to come closer to my touch than run away. But for now, all I have to do is try my best to appeal to her."

We left the Pokémon Center and decided to check out the large statue over to the east of the City. While approaching, we were met with a familiar face. Well, more like we _collided _with a familiar face.

"Out of the way!"

** -BMPFF-**

"Ouch… Quinny, who hit me?"

"Is that you Mel?!"

"Oh no… Not you…"

Quentin moved in to help Mel up as they both looked at the boy that knocked her over.

"What do you mean 'not you'?! Aren't we childhood friends?!"

Quentin flinched slightly at this. Mel just replied calmly to the statement.

"Barry, I hardly hung out with you. You would always drag me out of my house and force me to play with you."

"Isn't that what friends do though?"

"I don't think so. But then again, I don't really have many friends, right Quinny?"

"So far I've only counted two unless you count Professor Rowan."

"Wait, who are you?"

"Oh right Barry, you two never met. Barry, this is my travelling companion Quentin."

"It's nice to make your acquaintance." Quentin said while holding his hand out

Barry reluctantly took it and then looked over at Mel.

"Hey, are you two heading to the statue?!"

"Huh? Yeah we are! Are you going there too Barry?"

"Yeah. I'll lead you guys there so don't worry."

We followed Barry down the path and then we climbed a large staircase. When we reached the top, we saw a large statue of what looked like a Pokémon. Standing near it was a strange man. He had spikey, light blue hair and an expression that looked like it was carved onto his face. He began to mumble to himself and then he walked our way.

"… Pardon me. Stand aside."

We got out of his way but as he walked by, I noticed something about his clothes. There was a small, yellow symbol on the upper left of his shirt. I tried to not let it bother me but I couldn't stop thinking. We walked up to the large statue and gazed in awe.

"Pen! Let's go see the other side!"

Mel and I then walked slowly around the back side of the statue. Because I was gazing at the statue and not looking where I was going, I ended up tripping over something.

_Ouch…_

"Pen! Are you alright?!"

Mel came over to help me up when we looked for what I tripped on. It looked like a flat, reddish stone.

"Hmm… Strange… I think I'll keep this for now and show it to Professor Rowan later."

When we were done at the statue Mel decided to check out the bicycle shop. I went along with her but Quentin said he had to get some more supplies. We would have brought Barry but he was off running somewhere again. As we approached the shop we noticed that the lights were off and the closed sign was still up.

"I wonder if something happened… This is such a mysterious town, huh Pen?"

I nodded in agreement.

"But I guess that building over there is the most mysterious of them all."

We turned our attention to a large building down the road. It was a strange building. It had a large, yellow ring around its saucer-like roof. Its roof also had six spikes sticking out of it. Al in all, I've never seen a building like it.

"But before we check that building out, let's go challenge the gym! We should be ready by tomorrow, right Pen."

I nodded one last time and we returned to the Pokémon Center to reserve a room.

* * *

**Had to stop it there.**

**:o**

**I was having too much fun writing this one.**

**:D**

**Anyway, see you all next chapter then!**


	20. The Eterna Gym

**So here's chapter 20!**

**:D**

**I'm so proud… ;.;**

**Anyway, let's get on with the show!**

**I don't own Pokémon!**

* * *

The next morning we all met up outside. The sun was already up but we still haven't eaten.

"Okay, let's do some morning training guys!"

Mel was packing up a bag with all sorts of potions and berries while we followed her. We planned to train until lunch and then go into the gym and challenge the gym leader there. Mel wanted Rarity to participate too but first she needed training.

"Quinny, I think you and your Pokémon should go training as well. That way, we'll be equally matched."

"Alright. I was planning on training Shellos as well."

"Okay then. Let's go onto Route 205 and then we'll meet back at the Pokémon Center at around 12. Do you have something that tells time on you?"

"No. But I think I'll be able to tell the time just fine."

"Okay then, let's go guys. You too Rarity!"

I looked over at Rarity who was hiding behind the corner of the Pokémon Center. I went over to try and get her.

"Come on Rarity, we're going training for the next gym. You'll need to be strong."

At first Rarity didn't respond. So then I went over to get her attention. When I did, Rarity just looked at me with a straight face. Then she walked past me without making any eye contact.

"Hey! Wait a-"

"I didn't ask you to get me."

"I know. I went over on my own accord. Now let's go."

I held out my flipper to her but all she did was turn back and start walking again. I just followed her and we went over to Mel.

* * *

"Okay Rarity, let's see what moves you have..."

As mel scanned Rarity with her Pokédex, Sparkle, Stan, Fluttershy and I were sitting off on the side eating some breakfast. Stan and Fluttershy were discussing flying so Sparkle and I joined in.

"Stan, what does it feel like to fly?"

"Why do you ask Flutter?"

"Well, ever since I was a little Wurmple, I always looked at the Starly in my area and wonder. I always found flying to be something amazing."

"Well, flying comes naturally to me so I don't really know how to describe it."

Stan then proceeded to examine Fluttershy.

"You look pretty light. Hop on my back."

Stan lowered his left wing to look like a ramp. Fluttershy then slowly hopped onto his back until she was right in the middle of his back. As she was strapping herself down with her String Shot, Sparkle and I got a bit closer to watch the turn of events.

"Ready for lift off Flutter?"

"I think so..."

"Okay then! Let's go!"

Stan began to run while slowly flapping his wings. As his speed continued to accelerate, Fluttershy has a look of fear and anxiety. However, once Stan was off off the ground, her eyes could only show pure joy and excitement. As Stan was performing stunts in the air, Mel and Rarity came over.

"I wondered what you guys were doing over here. Remind me to have a talk with those two afterward. But for now, let's wait until they're done."

When Stan touched back on the ground, Mel walked over and handed each of them a berry. She then picked up Fluttershy and directed Stan to sit down in front of her.

"So I looked it up and it turns out that the next gym is a Grass-type gym. Stan, you're pretty strong but I need Fluttershy here to learn a super effective Bug-type move."

Stan and Fluttershy nodded in agreement. Then Mel turned over to us and gave us a small smile.

"I'm sorry that I can't use you guys in the next gym. I just can't risk it. You might get injured and I won't let you get hurt on my behalf. You two understand, right?"

Sparkle and I nodded our heads in agreement. We understood her reason for concern. After that, Mel took Stan and Fluttershy to go training. Rarity, Sparkle and I decided to stay put and wait for their return.

* * *

After about twenty minutes, Mel came back while carrying Fluttershy in her arms. Concerned, Sparkle and I ran over as Rarity just looked over.

"We had a bit of trouble while training..."

As we approached her and Mel we saw that Fluttershy was close to fainting.

"When we were looking for someone to battle, a wild Bidoof came out of nowhere. We tried to beat it but Fluttershy was almost knocked out. I had to send in Stan to finish him."

Mel put Fluttershy down and proceeded to feed her an Oran Berry.

"There. That should keep you going for now."

As Fluttershy ate the berry, she began to look a bit better. Once finished, Mel went over and crouched next to her.

"Fluttershy, how about for now we just do practice matches? That way we don't have to worry about you getting too injured."

Just then, Mel's Pokétch began beeping.

"Oh hey, look. It's time to go back. We'll continue this later."

We returned to the Pokémon Center and met up with Quentin.

"Hey Mel, have you made any progress so far?"

"Well, yes and no. What about you?"

"Well, I'll show you after I get my Pokémon all healed up."

"Good idea."

* * *

After we were all healed up, Mel and Quentin took us outside so that we could all be released at once. We went to a small clearing in between the Pokémon Center and the large Pokémon statue.

"I have made some progress but I think I over worked Fluttershy." Mel said while hugging Fluttershy a bit more

"Well, let me show you _my _progress then."

Quentin released all of his Pokémon at once. When he did, two of them looked really different. Geodude looked much larger and had an extra pair of arms while Machop grew much taller and now has a belt on.

"They evolved?!"

"Yeah. Mel, would you mind scanning them for me?"

"No problem. Let me get it out."

Mel took out her Pokédex and proceeded to scan the two.

"Gravler – The Rock Pokémon. It rolls on mountain paths to move. Once it builds momentum, no Pokémon can stop it without difficulty."

"Machoke – The Superpower Pokémon. It happily carries heavy cargo to toughen up. It willingly does hard work for people."

"Wow. So, how is your Cascoon doing then?"

"He's alright. We almost got beaten by a Bidoof though…"

"You too?!"

"Yeah those Bidoof sure are a problem. Wait a minute…"

Mel looked at Fluttershy, who was still in her arms, and then looked over at Cascoon.

"Hay Quinny! What do you think about a practice match?!"

"Practice match?"

"Yeah between your Cascoon and Fluttershy!"

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to try. Let's do it then!"

Fluttershy and Cascoon were then placed into a tense battle. Though, from our point of view, it wasn't really that tense. It was just a bunch of Tackle, String Shot, Poison Sting, and Harden. Due to it dragging out for over forty minutes, Mel and Quentin decided to call it a tie.

"That was a great battle. Thanks for helping out Quinny."

"No problem. I'm pretty sure Fluttershy and Cascoon appreciated it as well."

We all turned our attention to the pair of cocoon Pokémon. Their silk cocoons began to break open and out came a bright light. Mel pulled out her Pokédex while Quentin sat tight and watched the evolution take place. As the casings began to open further, two Pokémon began to emerge. Out of the Cascoon cocoon came a large flying bug. It had a purple body and large green wings with red circles and tattered slits. It had large yellow eyes and matching antennae. Out of the other case came a form that was much different. This one had a long black mouth and long black antennae to match. It also had large beautiful wings dashed with many different colors and large blue eyes.

"Dustox – The Poison Moth Pokémon. Toxic powder is scattered with each flap. At night, it is known to strip leaves off trees lining boulevards."

"Beautifly – The Butterfly Pokémon. Despite its looks, it is aggressive. It jabs with its long, thin mouth if disturbed while collecting pollen."

"Wow! Come over here Fluttershy!" Mel announced while holding her arm out

Immediately, the Beautifly flew over and landed on her arm happily. Then the Dustox flew over towards Quentin and landed on his head.

"Well, I think it's about time to challenge that gym, don't you think so too guys?"

We all nodded with a look of determination. We were ready.

* * *

W sped through the city until we reached the front door of the gym. Before we entered, Mel returned Sparkle, Fluttershy, and Rarity to their Pokéballs. Stan was in the first position while I refused to return. Quentin put all of his Pokémon and entered first to get a visitor's seat.

_I don't want to miss out seeing this…_

"Let's go Stan, Pen!"

The three of us entered to see a large clock on the floor. Mel observed the floor and the arrangement of switches.

"It looks like it's a giant puzzle. I think we need to first go over there…"

After about an hour or so, we finally reached the back of the gym. There stood the leader, Gardenia. She had a slightly bored look on her face. Then she looked over to Mel, Stan and I and a large grin grew on her face.

"You kept me waiting! I'm Eterna's Gym Leader, Gardenia, the Grass-type master! When I first saw you, I was convinced you'd find your way to me. My hunch was right on the money. You have a winning aura about you. So, anyway, this will be fun. Let's have our battle."

"Alright then!"

"Go Stan!"

"Go Turtwig!"

Stan was then sent out against Gardenia's Turtwig. This challenger was easily taken down however. It only took one Wing attack to do it.

"Arg… Go Cherrim!"

Gardenia sent out another pure grass-type. This one was very dull looking though. It didn't have the same color or feel as the other grass-types we've seen so far.

"Stan, use Quick Attack!"

"Are you saying something? You think you have me cornered? Use Magical Leaf Cherrim!"

Stan's Quick Attack hit Cherrim but it wasn't down yet. She then released a Magical Leaf attack. Stan tried to dodge but he couldn't get out of the path of the attack.

"Stan! Use Wing Attack!"

Stan then flew in and hit Cherrim with a final Wing Attack and she fell down for the last time.

"It's not the end yet. Go Roserade!"

"Wh-what is that?!"

Before Mel could pull out her Pokédex, the opponent releases a Poison Sting attack.

"Oh no Stan! Switch out! Switch out!"

Mel brought back Stan with the fear that he would be poisoned again.

"I'm sorry Stan. I need to send out Fluttershy now."

Fluttershy was then sent out in Stan's place.

"Fluttershy! Use Gust!"

Fluttershy let out a large Gust of wind and aimed it towards Roserade. Roserade attacked with a Magical Leaf. Luckily, Magical Leaf didn't do that much damage so Fluttershy was still able to battle.

"Use Poison Sting!"

"You use Poison Sting back Fluttershy!"

Both Pokémon attacked but both of the attacked knocked the other one out.

"Use Gust!"

"Use Grass Knot!"

Fluttershy was able to avoid the attack and hit Roserade with the final Gust attack. Roserade then finally fell and the battle was over.

"Amazing! You're very good, aren't you? I might've said it before, but you're really tough! Wasn't it hard for you to raise your Pokémon to be so good? I guess that's a measure of how much you love your Pokémon. In recognition of that, I proudly grant you this!"

Gardenia passed Mel over her shiny, new Forest Badge.

"Yup! If there's one thing I can tell about you, it's this! You and your Pokémon are gonna get even tougher, and I mean seriously!"

"Thank you Gardenia. I guess I'll see you later then."

Then the three of us left the gym and went straight to the Pokémon Center.

* * *

**Sorry it's so long!**

**:o**

**I wanted to get the gym battle over with so I shoved it in here. Anyway, this took me a while to get down but at least it's over…**


	21. Galactic, Rad, and Cynthia

**I swear, I wrote seven pages last chapter. Anyway, Chapter 21 go! Oh yeah, the phones are like the ones in the show.**

**I don't own Pokémon.**

* * *

Once fully healed at the Pokémon Center, we all waited until Quentin came back. In about ten minutes he came bursting in looking around. Mel put her book down and waved over at him.

"Why did you leave me at the gym?!"

"Well, I had to get Stan here as soon as possible! What if he was poisoned? Besides, I can't go on to then next town without you."

"That is true…"

"Anyway, come with me. It's about time I call Professor Rowan with news on my journey."

The three of us, Mel, Quentin and I, walked over to the telephones and quickly dialed Professor Rowan's number. After about three rings, one of the professor's assistants answered.

"Professor Rowan's lab… Oh Mel! I'll get the professor, please hold."

"Thank you."

Soon, the professor himself came on.

"Ah Mel, good to see you."

"It's good to see you too Professor Rowan. How is Beah doing?

"He's doing just fine. Right now he's resting from today's training session."

"Okay, that's great to hear. Oh! Did you see my Pokédex record?"

"Why yes, I'm looking at it right now. Actually, I was going to ask you a question about it."

"Huh? What would that be?"

"Well, I see that you have both Beautifly and Dustox registered."

"Yeah! Here's my Beautifly now. Come out Fluttershy!"

Mel threw the Pokéball to release the Butterfly Pokémon. Fluttershy then proceeded to fly around until she finally landed on Mel's head.

"My friend Quentin has the Dustox. Would you like to see it sir?"

"Please, if you may."

Quentin then reached for his Pokéball and released his Dustox. He directly landed on his arm.

"Hmmm…"

"I-is there a problem sir?" Mel said with slight hesitation

"No, it's not that. I was actually wondering if I could borrow your Pokémon for a while…"

"Borrow our Pokémon sir?" Quentin added looking a bit concerned

"Well, as you know, I research Pokémon evolution. I have always wanted to study the evolution of Wurmple but I have never been able to get proper results. In other words, I want to study your Beautifly and Dustox."

"Well, it's fine with me. What about you Quinny?"

"Well, if it's Professor Rowan, it should be alright."

"Please send them over as soon as you can."

"Alright professor. Will do."

Mel hung up the phone and then took a long look at Fluttershy. She reached up and pulled her down of off her head.

"Fluttershy, I need to send you over to Professor Rowan's lab. Would that be alright with you?"

Fluttershy looked a bit confused so Mel decided to explain everything. At the same time, Quentin and his team were having a mini farewell party for Dustox. After Mel finished explaining, she pulled out Stan, Sparkle and Rarity to say their goodbyes to Fluttershy.

"Bye Fluttershy we'll see you soon, okay?" Stan said while holding his wing out

Fluttershy accepted his wing and shook it with her tiny arms.

"When you're there say 'hi' to Beah for us, okay?"

"No problem Sparkle."

Rarity didn't say much to Fluttershy but she did hold her arms out for a hug.

"I'll see you all later then!"

Before Fluttershy flew over to Mel, she came to say bye to me.

"I'll see you later then Pen."

"Have fun while you're there Fluttershy. I know I did."

"Thank you."

With that final sentence, Fluttershy went back into her Pokéball and Mel put her in the transporter. Next to go was Quentin's Dustox. Afterward, Mel and Quentin put everyone back in their balls except for Graveler and me. We then decided to move on to the next town.

* * *

"Hmm… So apparently with this badge I can use Cut outside of battles. It looks like I can cut down small trees."

"Who are you going to teach it too?"

"Well, it's a Normal move so I think I'll teach it to Rarity. I'll just have her forget Defense Curl. Hold on…"

Mel then left with Rarity and came back about five minutes later. Mel looked a bit scuffed up though.

"What happened?!"

"Well, Rarity tried using Cut but it somehow ended up hitting me. We need to find some trees to test this on."

"How about those trees over there?"

Quentin pointed at the strange building Mel and I noticed yesterday.

"They look Cut-able… Let's try it then!"

We approached the row off trees. They were pretty small but we couldn't get past them.

"Okay Rarity, try using Cut on those trees."

Rarity didn't respond but she followed Mel's order. With a swift movement, the trees blocking the way all fell to the ground.

"Hmmm… Pen, want to go investigate?"

I instantly nodded while Quentin just looked in surprise.

"You're going in there?!"

"Don't worry! It might be a fun little adventure! Come on guys. Let's go in then!"

As we entered the building we were met with a familiar man. He was dressed in a tan trench coat with a serious look etched on his face.

"Mr. Looker? What are you doing in here?"

"A lead brought me here. I was told that I could find out more information on that Team Galactic. Hey, will you two be willing to help me out?"

"How so Mr. Looker?"

"Well, I was wondering if you could help me in my investigation. I need someone to go ahead and scope out the building while I investigate out here."

"You just don't want to battle anyone, right Mr. Looker?"

There was an awkward silence. Looker ended up averting his eyes and tried his best to change the subject.

"You two move along then…"

As Looker walked out of the building the rest of us just sighed.

"Might as well help out. Let's go Rarity, Pen."

* * *

Going through the building was like walking through a maze. There were many different stairways that led to idle rooms. There were large crates that blocked passages. After about an hour we came across a room with walls that looked as if they were painted with the night sky. We continued down the long corridor until we saw a large G symbol on the floor. We looked inside the last room to find a tall woman dressed in silver and black. She had a strange way of styling her hair but she looked like she was a superior rank to those we've defeated in the lower levels. As we approached her, she turned to us and gave a strange smirk.

"Eh? Did you want something? How silly of me to even ask. You want to free the Pokémon. Yeah, like that's gonna happen!"

"Oh it will!"

Just then, the woman let out her first Pokémon, a Zubat. Mel sent Sparkle out to against her.

"Oh no no no! This shall be a double battle!"

"Okay then! Even better! Quinny! Watch over Rarity, 'kay?"

"Got it!"

Mel then put me in as well while the opponent released a Skuntank.

"Okay Sparkle, use Spark! Pen, you use BubbleBeam! Let's take out this Zubat!"

At the same time we took aim at the Zubat. Giving it no time to doge, it fainted right then and there.

"How insolent. Take a bite of this, child! Skuntank! Use Night Slash on that Luxio!"

The Skuntank lashed forward and released a slash on Sparkle. It was a critical hit.

"Sparkle are you okay? Rarity! Switch out!"

Rarity obeyed and replaced Sparkle while I attacked the enemy with my BubbleBeam. Then the Skuntank came in with another Night Slash.

"Move it Rarity!" I called out pretty instinctively

I then immediately shoved Rarity out of the way of the attack and took it myself. Luckily I didn't get a Critical Hit but it still did some damage. As I got back on my feet Rarity showed a bit of concern but tried to hide it.

"Pen, use BubbleBeam! Rarity, you use Cut!"

Both of our attacks landed on the Skuntank before it could us. Luckilly the power was enough to knock it out.

"Losing to some child... Being careless cost me too much."

Mel didn't say anything to the woman. She just had us return to her side and gave us some Oran Berries to heal up.

"Well, aren't you tough...?"

"Should I take that as a compliment?"

"It's OK, though. Our official Pokémon-statue investigation is finished. Mars has collected energy from the Valley Windworks. We're pretty much finished here. I'll let you in on one little thing."

"And what would that be?"

"Our boss is researching the myths of ancient Pokémon. With the power of mythical Pokémon, he will become the ruler of Sinnoh... I suggest you keep out of Team Galactic's affairs from now on. This is your last warning!"

The woman then walked of and left us in the building alone.

"We should look for Mr. Looker now. Let's go then guys."

* * *

We left the building and headed to the Pokémon Center to get healed up.

"Why didn't you let me help out? You know I like to battle too."

"I felt that two against one would be cheating."

"But those trainers that we battled before did it too…"

"Honestly, I just wanted Rarity to battle in a double battle with one of my other Pokémon. I thought that that would help her open up to us a bit more."

"I guess it worked then…"

Then suddenly, attention was drawn to Rarity. Ever since that last battle, all she would do is follow me around. I guess she just wanted to ask if I was alright but couldn't bring herself to do it.

_She's really interesting. Oh well, she'll open up soon…_

We then left the Center and decided to go north. It was there that we were met with a tall woman dressed in black. She had long blonde hair and gray eyes. She looked like she was looking for someone and then she stopped when she saw Mel.

"Oh hello there! I couldn't help but notice that device you have there."

"Oh, you mean this?"

Mel held out her Pokédex to the woman and a smile grew on her face.

"Oh yes the Pokédex. It brings back memories… Oh I'm sorry! What's your name?"

"Oh I'm Mel and this is my friend Quentin. Right now we're on a journey aiming for the Pokémon League."

"I'll be sure to remember that name! My name is Cynthia. I'm a Trainer just like you."

"Really! Wow that's great!"

"I've been studying Pokémon mythology lately, just out of curiosity. Here in Eterna City, there is a statue of an ancient Pokémon. Have you seen it already?"

"Why yes we have. We went to see it yesterday."

"Well, according to myth, it was an extremely powerful Pokémon. Who knows? You may encounter something like it while you're traveling with your Pokédex."

"Wow! Wouldn't that be cool Quinny?!"

As Mel and Quentin discussed powerful Pokémon, Cynthia just giggled and smiled at the sight of it. Then, as if remembering to turn off the fire, Cynthia began to rustle aroung in her bag until she pulled out a strange case.

"Mel, I've got something nice for you. I wanted you to have this Pokémon Egg. The thing is, I have almost no time to raise it and I don't want to keep it from reaching its full potential. Will you accept it?"

"B-but Ms. Cynthia! We just met! You want to entrust me with something that precious?!"

"Why not? You seem like a capable and loving trainer. So do you want it?"

"Sure! I promise to love and train it well."

"That's good! Tell me when it's hatched, alright?"

"I will!"

* * *

"So what kind of Pokémon do you think it is?"

"I don't know… Maybe it's a super rare one? What do you think Pen?"

Well at this point I wasn't really sure what to think. All I knew was that we would be getting a new friend pretty soon.

"Well, the only way to find out is to keep moving. Let's go on to the next town!"

"Umm Mel?"

"Yes Quinny?"

"We're going to need bikes for the next route."

"What?! But when I last went to the bike shop it was closed, right?"

"Well, it should be open now. Remember? The bike owner was inside the building that we infiltrated."

"Really?"

"Yeah so let's go see if we could get some cheap bikes then."

As we went to the shop Mel was surprised to see that the Open sign was up. We entered the shop to see a man working on fine tuning a bike. As we approached he popped his head up and looked at us with a grin.

"You're the guy that saved me, right?"

"Wait, what? When did this happen Quinny?"

"When you were battling that one woman. While you had her distracted, I took the time to release him."

"Ohhh… That makes sense now."

The shop owner stood up and walked over to Quentin and Mel.

"For saving me, I've got something for you two."

The man went to the back and returned to the room with two new bicycles. They were both a bright red, collapsible bicycles.

"You can take these bikes free of charge!"

"Seriously?! But Mr. Rickshaw, are you sure?!"

"Oh I'm quite sure. It's the least I could do. That and the next route is a cycling route so you two will need bikes."

"Well, thank you then."

As Mel thanked Rickshaw, Quentin was toying around with his bike trying to figure out how to make it collapse.

"Well, I guess we should be off then. Thank you for everything Mr. Rickshaw!"

"It was my pleasure."

We left the shop and Mel then began to mount her bike.

"Let's get to that next route guys!"

* * *

**O.O**

**Eight pages this time.**

**O.O**

**What's wrong with me?**


	22. The Contest Hall

**Hey there! Mel here!**

**:D**

**I seem to write more and more pages each chapter so let's see if I can reach page 9 this time!**

**I don't own Pokémon!**

* * *

We went south of Eterna City until we were at a gate. As we all entered we were told that only people equipped with bicycles could pass due to the road.

"Well guys, I need to put you in your Pokéballs now."

Mel began to pull out our respective balls and had us all return. At first I was against it but then I realized that I couldn't exactly fit in the basket Mel had in front of her bike. That spot was reserved for her new egg. I then agreed to go in my ball.

* * *

While sitting in my ball, I could hear the sounds of battles and other bikes.

_I wish I could be out there too…_

Just then, we reached an abrupt stop. It sounded as if someone asked for a battle. I hoped Mel would pick me but she decided to use Rarity. This happened about five more times until she sent me out. I was going up against a larger Pokémon. It looked as if there were flames coming out of it's head and bottom.

We fought for a couple of minutes until I finally took the Pokémon down. Mel returned me to my ball and they continued down the path. We had a couple of more abrupt stops until it sounded as though we've reached a different location. Mel didn't let us out of our balls however. She and Quentin first rode over to the Pokémon Center.

* * *

It turned out that we were back in Oreburgh City. Mel didn't really like Oreburgh but she decided it was good enough. I was let out once again and I was pretty happy about that too.

_Beats being stuck in that ball the whole time._

Quentin ran of saying something about getting something at home but he returned pretty quickly. When he got back he had this strange grin on his face but decided not to tell us anything.

"What's up Quinny?"

"I'll tell you later…"

"Well okay then, let's get everyone healed then!"

We entered the Pokémon Center and immediately went over to the nurse in charge. Luckily, there was no line. After we got healed, Mel and Quentin began to return us to our balls. At first I refused to go in unless they had a good explanation.

"Pen, we need to ride the bikes in order to get back onto the path. After that, I'll let you back out, okay?"

_I guess so…_

I nodded in agreement and returned to my ball.

* * *

After about an hour I was released along with Rarity and Sparkle to navigate through a cave. We began to look around to see nothing but darkness and rocks.

"Sparkle, you light the way. Pen, I want you and Rarity to guard us from enemies."

With that we trudged through the cave. If we ran into a Machop poor a Geodude, I would protect Rarity from their attacks. And in turn, she would try to help me with the Zubat. When we were close to the exit, we could hear what sounded as a water fall. We could even smell the cool breeze from inside. We all ran out of the cave to find ourselves standing on a wooden bridge. We looked around to see that the sun has already set and it was getting darker by the second.

"Let's go camp out then!" Mel said while digging through her bag for her tent

"Here? But it's a bunch of rocks…"

"Then we'll move ahead to find a patch of grass."

We crossed the bridge and continued down the path. Sparkle continued to light our path while Rarity and I were just behind her.

"Woah!"

Rarity's foot got caught up on a rock and she fell flat on her face. I went over to help her up but she gave me a strange look. She then quickly got up and ran up to be next to Sparkle.

_I guess she wanted more light so she wouldn't trip again…_

Soon afterward we found a small stairway leading down to a patch of tall grass. Sparkle, Rarity and I ran ahead until we reached a large Honey tree. Mel and Quentin soon followed. We decided to camp out here. Mel then immediately pulled out her tent and began to set it up.

"Too tired. Let's all just go in the tent, okay?"

"Don't we need someone on guard though?"

"Nah. The Pokémon must be tired too, right guys?"

The three of us nodded in agreement. We've been walking for hours now. Sleep sounded pretty good. I didn't even care if it _was _in my ball.

"It's settled then. Everyone return and Quinny, get your sleeping bag out."

"Oh, no! I could sleep outside tonight."

"Oh you must be joking Quinny because that's just hilarious. It's close to fifty degrees out tonight! We can't have you getting a cold now! So get in the tent like a good boy and go to sleep."

Mel didn't seem to want to take "No" for an answer. Quentin then began to unfold his sleeping bag and we all went to sleep.

* * *

The next morning we all had a pretty large breakfast seeing that we hadn't eaten dinner the day before.

"Now that we're all recharged, let's get to the next town!"

We walked over to the east until we reached a gate. Mel stared at it with a shocked look on her face. Quentin shared it.

"so you mean we didn't have to camp out and the next town was just a couple of feet away?"

Quentin managed to reply "I guess so…"

Mel began to rage in a corner while we walked into the gate without her. Quentin and I walked over to the Pokémon Center but just as we were about to enter someone talked to us.

"Hearthome looks like a lot of fun, doesn't it?"

We turned to find that Mel was behind us taking in all of the sights.

_Since when was she there?!_

Regardless, we entered the Pokémon Center together and decided to ask around. Mel was about to use the PC when she noticed a strange woman using it.

"I guess I'll just wait my turn then."

Mel then took me and sat down on a bench next to the machine. Quentin said he was going to go to the Pokémart to get more supplies. Mel and I just continued to wait.

"You know Pen, after you and Quinny ditched me, I ran into the sweetest little Buneary. I hope that I can get Rarity to like me like that trainer and her Buneary…"

Mel began to sigh a bit so I rummaged through her bag. When I found what I was looking for, I pressed the button and out came a bright red light.

"What is it Pen?" she said after the red light dispersed

Mel looked at Rarity, the Pokémon just released, and then back at me.

"Oh I get it! Come on up here Rarity!"

Mel held out her hand and Rarity took it and joined Mel and I on the bench .

"I have an idea to pass the time!"

Mel began to fiddle with her Pokétch until she reached the Friendship Checker application. She tested Rarity once more and the result gave her a small smile.

"Look Pen! The icon is moving closer! That must mean I'm doing something right…"

Just then, the woman at the PC left but not before eyeing Mel and having a short chat with the nurse.

"Wh-what was that about?" Mel asked with a bit of fear in her voice

* * *

Mel, Rarity and I left the Pokémon Center and decided to go sightseeing a bit. We walked north until we reached a large, sleek looking dome. Atop the roof was an emblem which looked like a ribbon. Mel, being as curious as she is, had us enter the large building.

"Wow! Look how wide it is! Do you think it's an arena of some sorts?"

As we walked further in we were met with a woman that seemed to know Mel.

"Oh hi! You're the one that found my Buneary!"

"Oh hi! It was nothing."

"You have a Buneary as well? Why don't you go and enter the upcoming Pokémon Contest with her?"

"Pokémon Contest?"

"You don't know?! Come over here and speak with another contestant then!"

We were pulled over to what looked like a receptionist's desk where two woman were having a conversation.

"Mel! You're here!"

Just then, one of the women left the conversation to hug Mel. However, Mel began to hug back.

"Mom?! What are you doing in Hearthome?"

"Contests of course! Oh! Are those two yours?" she said while gesturing towards Rarity and I

"Oh yeah, they are! Anyway, what are these contests?"

"Well, why don't you try for yourself?"

"Well, I guess that sounds fun."

"Great!"

Just then, Mel's mom pulled out a gown that looked like it would fit Mel perfectly.

"Mom… What's with the dress?"

"It's for you of course! You need to be dressed formally for these types of events."

"What?! Sorry, I don't do dresses…"

"Oh don't you worry! Now come over here for a bit."

Her mother began to drag her into the nearest bathroom despite her protests.

"Pen! Rarity! No!"

* * *

After the changing was over, Mel stood near us but she didn't have her normal attitude.

"Can I just do the contest now?"

"Wait a moment! First you need to know what rank and category you would be entering as well as which Pokémon."

"So complicated… Well, if these things are for showing off your Pokémon, then I guess I'll start off with Rarity. Her fur is the softest out of the four of you. That and it would increase our bond as well!"

First, Mel looked up Rarity's moves to see which category she would be best suited for. Mel then walked up to the registration desk and began to sign Rarity up for the Normal Rank Cool competition.

"Let's do this then Rarity!"

* * *

During the contest I refused to go back in my Pokéball. I wanted to stay out and support Rarity in her first performance. Mel somehow talked the officials into allowing me to stay out. Then we went on stage to the opening ceremony. The crowd was large and there was shining lights everywhere. I wasn't sure but I think I could make out Mel's mom as well as Quentin. But then again, I wasn't too sure.

"We will now start off with the Visual Competition! Each trainer has one minute to accessorize their Pokémon according to the given theme. Today's theme is… the Colorful! Trainers have sixty seconds starting… now!"

As soon as the announcer finished his sentence, all of the trainers began to dress up their Pokémon. Mel looked around for a bit then pulled out a case that her mother gave her.

"Hmm… The theme is Colorful so let's just give you a bunch of stuff with different colors."

Mel began to stick small fluff balls onto Rarity in order to make her as appealing as possible.

"Thirty seconds left!"

Then Mel began to apply different colored feathers. It seemed a bit hard since she was only allowed to use ten items but she somehow finished.

"Time's up!"

Everyone dropped what they were holding or adjusting and were ordered to line up with their partner Pokémon to their right. For this part I decided to wait backstage but I was able to find a good viewing spot. After the presentation of each Pokémon, the audience would begin to clap to show their judgment on the appeal. They went down one by one until they came to Mel and Rairty, pair number four.

_Silence…_

After about four or five seconds of silence, the audience erupted in applause.

_Huh, I guess they're easy to impress…_

* * *

"Now that the first round is over, it's time to move on to the Dance Competition! Each Pokémon is expected to create a small dance of their own as well as repeat the dances of the other contestants. We will now begin with Group 1!"

One by one they danced. Rarity was able to synch up perfectly with the opponent's moves. When it came down to her turn however, the others were able to copy her routine save for a few jumps.

"Now the third competition, the Acting Competition, will now commence! Since the one in the lead is Mel and Rarity, they will perform last for this round! And… begin!"

As for the Acting Competition, it could have gone a bit better. Since Rarity only had two Cool moves to use, she really didn't have much choice. It was either Cut or Quick attack. Luckily, Mel somehow made it work and they ended up winning that round by a couple of extra appeal points.

"Well I must say. That was the best contest I've seen in a while. A complete newbie was able to catch on and perform so well among other skilled Coordinators. Let's see the results and name our winner then!"

Slowly, the results of points won per competition appeared. Each of Mel's scores were higher than the other opponents. In the end, Mel's points put her in first place. The audience began to cheer wildly as Mel picked up Rarity and began to twirl her around. Rarity also had a greatly elated face. They won their first contest.

* * *

"Mel! You did great!"

Mel looked around to find the voice that just called out to her. Then her mom walked over with her arms spread out wide.

"I'm so proud of you! You're first ribbon! Remember to pin it onto your little Rarity tightly or she might lose it."

"Don't worry mom. I was doing that right now. Oh, I was wondering if I could have my clothes back." Mel said while looking at her dress once more

"Oh right, I did say I would give them back, didn't I…" Mel's mom responded while going through her bag

Mel decided to sit down and wait for her clothes to be retrieved while she heard another familiar voice.

"I didn't know you were into contests."

Mel turned around quickly to see Quentin standing behind her with a sort of strange smile.

"Quinny?! I thought you were still shopping!"

"Finished early."

"Here you go Mel!"

Mel immediately grabbed her clothes and ran towards the bathroom.

"Oh my. She's still very jumpy."

* * *

When Mel finally got out of the bathroom she found the rest of us were sitting round in the waiting area of the hall just waiting for Mel to come back out. Her mom then immediately stood up and ran over to her.

"Mel, I need to go home right now."

"What?! Why?!"

Her mother paused and then looked at her with a serious look.

"When, there was an incident and I need to go take care of it."

"You forgot to turn the oven off again, didn't you?"

"Well, you got me there. Well, good luck on your journey and remember to visit once in a while!"

Mel went to see her mother off and then returned in about ten minutes.

"Well Quinny, did you see anywhere we could eat lunch for today?"

"Actually, I did see one restaurant but it looks a bit expensive. In fact, Hearthome makes _everything_ look expensive."

"Then let's just look around first."

* * *

After about an hour or so of sightseeing we were too tired and hungry to move on. We crashed down in front of this nice looking building east of the Pokémart. Out of the building popped the head of a short, balding man. Once he spotted Rarity and I, he began to flip out.

"E-excuse me sir… Are you alright?" Mel said concerned yet cautious at the same time

"Are those Pokémon yours?!"

"Yes. Are we in trouble? Should we leave?"

"No! Come in! Come in! Come in all of you!"

We were then once again dragged somewhere but this time instead of a large contest hall, it was a small building filled with Pokémon.

Quentin looked around and asked the man "What exactly is this place?"

"Why this is the Pokémon Fan Club! We here at the PFC love Pokémon and all of their cuteness!"

"Their… cuteness?"

"Yes. I remember seeing this young lady and her Buneary over there performing at today's morning contest. Since you perform contests that must mean you love Pokémon, right?!"

"I just adore Pokémon! Want to see my others?"

"Oh yes please!"

Mel then let out Sparkle and Stan. Then she reached into her bag ro pull out a case that was holding her Pokémon egg.

"Oh my! You're Pokémon look as if they all love you! What about you my good sir. Have you any Pokémon on hand?"

"Yes, I do. Hold on a second."

Quentin reached for his belt and released his Graveler, Machamp, Shellos, and Roselia.

"Oh my! Is that all?!"

"Actually…"

Quentin then pulled out one more Pokéball. This one looked slightly older that the ones Graveler and Machamp were in.

"What's that Quinny?" Mel asked with a perked curiosisty

"Well, this is my first Pokémon."

Quentin pressed the ball's button and had it release the familiar red light. Once the light fully dispersed we found that the Pokémon was a Magnemite.

"This is your first Pokémon? Where did you get it? From when? Where was it until now?"

"Woah, woah, woah! One question at a time Mel." Quentin answered sweating a bit

"I'll tell you after we get some lunch."

* * *

**Ending it here!**

**Okay, 1) I did win my first contest with Rarity. I like Sinnoh contests better than Hoenn, that's for sure.**

**2) I did give Quentin a Magnemite. I have my reasons. To know why, just keep reading.**

**And I had more points but I forgot them.**

**o.o**

**Anyway, this time I wrote nine pages! (;.;)**

**See you all next chapter I guess.**


	23. Poffins and Gym Leaders

**So in the last chapter I was in a Pokémon contest. I think this one would have the gym battle.**

**I don't own Pokémon!**

* * *

Lunch at the Pokémon Fan Club was very… interesting…

"Can I pet your Buneary?!"

"Could we play with your Prinplup?!"

"Your Luxio is just stunning!"

Back and forth, all four of us were pulled this way and that way. Afterward we were bombarded with questions and this strange food. Everyone seemed to have them and they all tasted different than then next. One of them I found to be very delicious while another one left me with a disgusting aftertaste.

"Oh no! It seems he doesn't really like Sour ones at all. I wonder if he has a Gentle nature…"

"No way! I gave him one of my Dry poffins and he couldn't get enough! That must mean he has a Mild nature!"

"Um, excuse me, but what are those?"

Mel, just sitting around watching us get filled to the brim with treats was getting very curious. But just when she asked, all of the women feeding us just stopped and gave her a surprised look.

"You're a coordinator and you don't know what a poffin is?!"

"Well actually that was my first contest-"

"You won your first contest! You must be amazing! Anyway, follow us if you want to know more about poffins. Every good coordinator needs them."

Mel looked at all of us and sighed. She first set off on this journey to get a chance to travel and defeat all of the gyms. We never even considered contests to be in there as well. Mel just returned Sparkle and Stan to their balls and picked up her egg. She was about to leave with Quentin to follow the crowd of raging woman until she was stopped.

"Excuse me! Miss!"

It was the Fan Club president. He came running over to us holding a small, yellow case.

"If you're going to be making poffins, you'll need a poffin case first to hold them all. You have berries, right?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I've still got some."

"Good. You'll need those for the poffins. Just go into the building right next door to the Pokémart and you'll find the rest of the fan club members."

"Thank you sir."

* * *

When we entered the building a woman in an apron was waiting near the entrance.

"Hello and welcome to the Poffin House! Would you like to cook alone or in a group?"

"Alone I guess."

"This way please."

Mel, Rarity and I followed the woman to a stove. Quentin just went off to the waiting area and began to read a book while waiting.

"Please select a berry you would like to use."

Mel looked through our berry supplies and decided to use an Oran Berry.

Mel added the berry into the pot and then began to stir. Since it was her first time the poffin was, well, burnt a couple of times. Well, not really a couple of times, more like _multiple _times. She was left with a Foul looking poffin.

"I guess I'm not that good at making poffins…"

"Oh it's okay, you just need some more practice. Come back whenever you feel like cooking."

"I will. Come on Quinny, let's go sightseeing some more. If we have time, we might be able to challenge the gym today!"

When she finished that sentence, there was silence once again among the fan club members.

"Wait. You're a trainer?"

"Oh yeah, I am. You see, I came here with the intentions of challenging the gym but my mother pulled me into the contest so-"

"What is wrong with you?! Pokémon shouldn't fight! It's just wrong!"

"But how else would they evolve and get stronger?"

"Through love and affection, of course!"

Afterwards we ended up getting kicked out of the Poffin House for being too loud and disrupting the other customers. Mel grabbed Quentin's arm and dragged us away from the area. We ended up moving to the far northeast area of the town.

"Mel! Stop!"

"Why?"

"Because I think you've found the gym!"

"What?"

We looked over to the building Quentin was pointing at. It was a grand structure which looked a bit like the last two gyms we have been to.

"Oh hey, you're right! Well, let's go in."

"Wait!"

"Yes?"

"You do know that this is a _Ghost-type _gym, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So, are you planning on using Rarity?"

"Well, of course!"

"But she's a Normal-type!"

Mel looked at Rarity and then back at Quentin with a devious look.

"Oh I have a strategy, don't you worry."

* * *

When we entered the gym we found the entrance to be a dull, grey room. There was a single wooden door but to the far right there seemed to be a yellow tile of some sorts.

"I guess we go in here. I'll see you later then Quinny."

"Yeah, good luck!"

We went through the door and entered a pitch black room. We tried walking straight through but we ended up walking straight into a wall. I then spotted a light coming from the right so I informed Mel.

"Oh! That could be someone to battle! Let's go Pen! Then you can have the first match."

The person holding the flashlight was a youngster. After giving him a small scare, he pulled out a Pokéball and released a Gastly.

"Go Pen!"

After a series of BubbleBeam the Gastly fell. The youngster then sent out another Pokémon. Mel had to scan this one first.

"A Drifloon huh? Then I'll switch to Sparkle!"

I was brought back and Sparkle took my place in battle which I was a bit glad about.

"Use Spark!"

With that one Spark the Driftloon was easily taken down. We collected the Youngster's money and continued to move. Then we were caught in the flashlight of a Lass. She sent out a Misdrevus so Mel sent out Stan. After a couple of Wing Attacks and Arial Aces, the opponent fell. We continued to the next room.

Battle after battle, dead end after dead end, we have finally reached the final room where the gym leader, Fantina, was awaiting our arrival.

"Ohohoho! Finally, you have arrived!"

"I take it you were waiting?"

"Why yeas, I was. Since I came to this country, always I try to learn new things. They hold Contests in this city? I say to myself, enfin, I will excel. That's why I dress this way. C'est une performance! Also I study Pokémon very much. I have come to be Gym Leader. And, uh, so it shall be that you challenge me. But I shall win. That's what a Gym Leader does, non?"

"Well I'm not sure about that."

Mel pulled out her badge case and showed Fantina her two, shiny gym badges.

"As you can see, I've beaten a gym leader before. But let's wait for me to show you first."

As Fantina sent out a Duskull, Mel sent out me. Before I let out an attack I was hit with Pursuit. I then got back up and unleashed a harsh BubbleBeam while the Duskull used a Will-O-Wisp. I was burned immediately.

"Pen! Are you alright?!"

I was slightly hurt by the burn but I could keep battling. Well, at least until the enemy was down.

"Uh… Use BubbleBeam again!"

"Duskull! Use Shadow Sneak!"

I charged my attack but when I did, there was a mysterious shadow coming from Duskull. It was heading right for me.

"Pen!"

I got knocked back a bit but I still managed to hit the enemy with a BubbleBeam.

_Please let this end soon!_

I guess it was a bit of wishful thinking because right at the end of that thought, I was hurt once again by the burn.

"Use BubbleBeam!"

"Shadow Sneak!"

This continued for four more rounds. We went back and forth until finally, the Duskull fell. My health was almost completely drained due to the burn I got.

"Pen! Return!"

I came back to Mel's side happily and collapsed on the floor completely exhausted. Mel decided to send out someone unexpected. She sent out Rarity. Quentin, who was watching from the spectator's area, had a look of surprise but was also a bit curious as to what she would do. Fantina sent out her second Pokémon, her Haunter.

"Okay Rarity! We've been training for this!"

Rarity looked back at Mel and gave her a long stare. She then made eye contact with me and immediately turned her back on me.

"Good luck!" I managed to shout out to Rarity

"Okay Rarity, you know what to do!"

As the enemy released a Confuse Ray, Rarity dodged the attack and just concentrated on the enemy. The Haunter tried to disappear but it didn't work. She stayed visible.

_What was that?_

"Rarity use Cut!"

"Shadow Claw!"

The Haunter snuck up and tried to use Shadow Claw but the attack just went through Rarity and left no damage. Rarity let out a smirk and hit the Haunter with Cut.

_But Cut is a Normal-Type move! Why did it do damage?!_

Fantina, with a surprised look as well, let out a confident laugh and smirked back at Rarity.

"Never give up, never surrender! Use Sucker Punch!"

"Quick Attack Rarity!"

Rarity lashed forward and smashed against the Haunter. She got back up and hit Rarity right in the stomach.

"Rarity! Use another Quick Attack!"

"Confuse Ray!"

The Haunter was hit one more time with Quick Attack but this time, Rarity was hit with the Confuse Ray.

"Rarity! Try using Cut!"

"Huh? What? Hit myself?"

Rarity smacked herself in the face and fell over. Fantina took this chance to use Sucker Punch once again.

"Rarity! Snap out of it!"

_Arg! That Haunter is almost out! What could snap her out of this confusion?_

"Rarity! Get back in the game and show that Haunter who's boss!"

Somehow, my cheering got Rarity back into the swing of things.

"Rarity! Quick Attack!"

With that last attack, Haunter fell.

"Great job Rarity!"

Mel ran forward and brought Rarity back to her back to where I was resting.

"Pen you take care of her. I'm going to finish this."

"Oh, heavens. What is this? Is this my final Pokémon?"

Mel took out a couple of berries for us and then went back to her spot. She then sent out Stan while Fantina sent out her Mismagius. Stan took a concerned look at Rarity and I. I gave him an encouraging nod and he then focused on his enemy. The Mismagius looked at him menacingly at first but then gave him a small wink. Stan was stunned. He turned a bit blue but he tried his best to ignore it.

"Stan, use Wing Attack!"

"Shadow Ball!"

The Shadow Ball went right through Stan as he came in with his wing attack. Mismagius was knocked back a bit but came back strong and furious.

"And I thought we could get to know each other better afterwards!"

Mismagius unleashed a Magical Leaf and it hit Stan directly in the face.

"Good! I didn't want to!"

Stan went in with another Wing attack. This battle dragged on for a bit but in the end, Mel had to switch Stan out for Sparkle.

"Sorry Stan, I can't have you fainting now. Sparkle, you use Spark on Mismagius!"

Back and forth, back and forth. Thanks to the Damage already done by Stan, the battle went by much faster. Mismagius has fainted.

"You are so fantastically strong. I know now why I have lost."

"Thank you for the battle."

"I am dumbfounded! So very, very strong! You, your Pokémon, so strong! Your power is admirable! I shall honor it with this Gym Badge!"

"Thank you!"

Mel pulled out her badge case and carefully placed the new badge in its rightful spot.

"Three Gym Badges... But you must not forget this. There are many other trainers. Strong Trainers, too. There are many more in Sinnoh. Have patience! You must become stronger, one at a time."

"Once again, thank you Miss Fantina. We'll be off now."

We continued down the corridor to the right until we reached a similar yellow tile. Right when we stepped on it, we were teleported to the first room. Waiting there was Quentin, holding some medicine and potion for us. My burns were healed and everyone else had their health restored.

"That was quite the battle! But I must ask, what was that move you used on Haunter?"

"Oh that? We just used Foresight. It allows you to hit Ghost-types with Normal or Fighting-type attacks. Nice, huh?"

"Very nice! Anyway, let's head over to the Pokémon Center and get a room. It's already dark out."

We all looked out the door and saw that he was right.

"Oh shoot! Let's hurry then!"

* * *

**This chapter wasn't as long as the last one (around 3000 words) but I'm glad about it. Anyway, I had something fun planned for the next chapter but I realized a flaw in my timing. In fact, the same problem appeared in the planning for this chapter so that's why it took a while to write. Let's hope the next one takes less time.**

**…**

**Oh yeah! Since it's October I might not be updating that much.**

**;.;**

**Darn you college apps!**


	24. Hatching a Plan

**Hey anyone reading this! Lol! I used a generic title which was most likely a title of an episode but I can't really remember...  
**

**So in this chapter we just have a battle or two and a new friend.**

**:D**

**I don't own Pokémon!**

* * *

We got up pretty early the next morning. Mel said that before we left, she wanted to explore a bit. So after breakfast Mel released everyone so that we could take a walk around.

"Hey Quinny! Could we go riding on the bike path for a bit?"

"Why?"

"I really just want to play on the bikes."

"Okay fine. I'll watch your Pokémon for you then."

We traveled through Route 208 and then back to Mt. Coronet. The more we approached the path, the queasier I felt. Sparkle walked over to catch up to me.

"Pen? Are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm just fine. Don't worry about me-"

-BMFF-

"Ouch… What was that?"

I get back up to see that Rarity used a Quick Attack on me and then ran up ahead to Mel.

"What's wrong with her?"

Sparkle looked up at Rarity and decided to talk to her about something.

* * *

"Okay, I've got my egg all secure. I'm ready to ride!"

Before Mel left, she took a long look at me and then back at her bike. She then picked me up and plopped me right on to her lap.

"I'll give each of you guys a ride. First Pen then Stan, Sparkle and Rarity can get a ride if they want."

We started at the bottom of the route and rode all the way to the top. I felt bad due to the extra weight I was adding but Mel said it was okay. Just when we got back to our starting place, we heard a noise.

**_-CRACK-_**

"Wh-what was that?!"

Mel stopped riding instantly and had me get off. She then followed and looked around to see what made the noise. Quentin, who was waiting just outside of the gate, came over wondering why we stopped.

"We heard a crack noise but we don't know where it came from."

Quentin looked around with us until his gaze stopped on the bike.

"Mel! I think you need to take a closer look at your egg!"

The Pokémon egg was indeed the source of the noise. It began to glow and there were cracks forming all around it.

"Oh my gosh! Is it hatching?!"

Mel motioned to the others. She definitely didn't want them missing this.

**_-crack-_**

**_-crack-_**

**_-CRACK-_**

"Priiii!"

We all stared at the Pokémon that just hatched. It had a light yellow body and looked as if it was still wearing it's shell. On it's head were several spikes. As we all stared at it, Mel pulled out her Pokédex to scan it.

"Togepi – The Spike Ball Pokémon. It transforms the kindness and joy of others into happiness, which it stores in its shell."

"Oh it's so cute! What should I name you?"

"Well, is it a boy or a girl?"

"It shows here that this one is a girl! Oh wow! How rare!"

Mel looked at the Togepi a bit more then turned back to us.

"I'll name her Rainbow!"

"Rainbow?"

"Well, her shell is pretty colorful, don't you agree?"

"I guess it is. Let's go get Rainbow checked by the Pokémon Center then."

"Good idea."

* * *

As we returned to Hearthome, we were stopped by someone before we went to the Pokémon Center. The woman wore a orange tank top and denim shorts. She also had a poorly tied blond ponytail. She didn't give us her name but she told us to stop by her home which was just next to the Pokémon Center. We decided to go there later. Right now we had to get Rainbow a checkup.

"May I see the Pokémon?"

Mel handed the nurse her Togepi. The nurse examined the Togepi carefully before saying, "And when did she hatch?"

"Just a couple of minutes ago actually."

"I'm going to run some tests. Please come back in a while to pick her up."

"Thank you."

We exited and decided to take this time to go see the woman from before. Quentin decided to use this time to replenish our food and medicine supplies.

We entered the house of the mystery woman. Right when we opened the door, we were welcomed into a bright yellow room. The woman walked up to Mel and began to shake her hand.

"Nice to meet ya'! The name's Bebe, and yours?"

"Oh, I'm Mel. What is it that you do Bebe?"

"Well, you know that PC in all the Pokémon Centers?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm the Creator of it."

"Really?!"

"Well, of the system, not the idea. That honor goes to Bill. I just perfected it is all."

"Amazing! Now, why did you want to talk with me?"

"Well, the truth is, I wanted you to take this."

Bebe handed Mel a Pokéball.

"What's in it?"

"Well, why don't you go and look?"

Mel pressed the button and released a red beam of light. Out of the beam came a small, brown Pokémon.

"What is it?"

Mel reached for her Pokédex while Bebe just explained.

"Eevee – The Evolution Pokémon. Because its genetic makeup is irregular, it quickly changes its form due to a variety of causes."

"That there is an Eevee. I got it from a friend and I decided to give him to a good trainer. Do you want him?"

"Is it okay?"

"It's fine! Take him and go! And make sure to use that transfer system of mine!"

Bebe then shoved us out of her house, Eevee included.

"So what should I call you?"

* * *

"Here is your Togepi Miss. I've given it the necessary tests and she showed perfect signs of health."

"Thank you!"

Mel took back Rainbow and then went over to the waiting area. She lied down with Rainbow and Mikey, her new Eevee, at her stomach and the rest of us either at her feet of sitting in front of the sofa.

"I think it's time to call the Professor. After all, I now have six Pokémon."

Mel slowly got up and walked over to the phone. She was carrying Rainbow and Mikey was riding on her shoulder. The rest of us then moved onto the sofa to rest a bit.

"Hello? Is the professor there?"

"Oh yes, I'll go get him now."

After a couple of minutes, the professor was on the line.

"Why hello there Mel. What do you have to report now."

"Well, a lot actually. First, this."

Mel called Rarity over and held her up in front of the screen.

"I participated in a Pokémon Contest! Rarity won first!"

"That's wonderful! Are you going to pursue contests as well?"

"I'm not sure. They are fun but they only have them here. Now for my second bit of news."

Mel then pulled out her badge case and showed it to Professor Rowan.

"Oh so you've beaten Fantina, have you?"

"It was a bit difficult but I finally did it. Ready for the third bit of news?"

"There's more? Go on ahead."

"Okay then."

This time, Mel held up Rainbow.

"I got this little one as an egg. She just hatched earlier today."

"Oh wow! Is that a Togepi?"

"Yes, it is. Now for my last bit or news."

Mel pointed to Mikey who was still hanging on her shoulder.

"I just got this little guy today. A woman named Bebe gave him to me."

"Is that an Eevee?!"

"Huh? Yeah, why? Is something wrong professor?"

"It's just that Eevee are known for evolution. Would it be alright if I were to study him for a while?"

"If it's for the sake of science, then of course professor!"

Mel grabbed Mikey and looked him in the eyes.

"Well little guy. I've only known you for about an hour now but I guarantee that I'll see you soon. Don't be a bother to the professor."

Mikey returned to his Pokéball without protest and went straight to the professor. We then left the Pokémon Center in search of Quentin.

* * *

"So you gave him to the professor?"

"Well, not 'gave', more like 'let him borrow.'"

"But still, you just got him."

"Well, it's for science Quinny. You can't delay science."

"Anyway, shouldn't we be going?"

"Let me think…"

Before we left Hearthome, Mel grabbed me and told Quentin to wait there for her.

_I guess she left something behind…_

Mel and I ran all the way back to Route 206. I gave her a look just questioning why we were there. She noticed and responded with a cautious tone.

"Well Pen, I have a feeling that Barry might pop up soon. I think we're gonna need a Fire-type on the team. Don't you agree?"

_I guess it makes sense. After all, it would come in handy._

After thirty minutes, we returned to Hearthome. I got healed up and then we got ready to leave. Just as Mel predicted, Barry was waiting for her to show up. He was waiting inside of the gate connecting Hearthome and the next route.

"Hi there Barry!"

"Hey Mel! I got my third badge already, what about you?"

"Oh me too! So, why are you still here?"

"To battle you of course!"

"Okay hold on. I think we should move out of this gate, don't you agree Quinny?"

"Yeah. You guys wouldn't want to cause any damage here."

"Wait, who's this guy?"

"Oh right! This is Quentin. Quinny, this is Barry, my childhood companion."

"Don't you mean childhood friend?" Barry responded with a bitter tone

"I know what I said boy! Anyway, if you want a battle, follow me."

Mel led the rest of us out of the gate and back into Hearthome. Mel and Barry took their positions and began the battle.

"Go Staravia!"

"Go Stan!"

On both sides of the field stood two Staravia. You could actually tell them apart. For some reason, Stan was slightly larger that Barry's Staravia.

"Quick Attack!" they both called out at once

Both Flying-types flew forward instantly. Stan, being slightly faster, hit the enemy first.

"Stan! Keep that up!"

Attack after attack, Stan always landed the first hit. It finally came to a point where the enemy Staravia couldn't stay up. He had to land.

"Stan! One more hit!"

Stan flew in one more time and the enemy was down. Barry, with a furious look on his face, reached for his next Pokémon.

"Go Buizel!"

"A Buizel, huh? Then I'll send out Sparkle!"

On one side was Barry's Buizel and on the other was Sparkle.

"Go Sparkle!" I cried out. "You can totally knock him out in one round!"

"Thanks Pen! I'm getting pumped now!"

The Buizel, however, didn't like my words of encouragement.

"You think you'll win with a type advantage? Ha! I'll have you crying to your little boyfriend soon little Sparklette!"

_B-boyfriend?! Do I sound like a caring boyfriend to him? _

"Little?! I'm bigger than you!"

The Buizel, obviously seething at the comment just spouted "Just by a bit! Come on! Let's battle!"

"Sparkle, use Spark!"

"Quick Attack!"

The opponent quickly propelled himself and tackled Sparkle back a bit. Right after this however, Sparkle hit him with a Spark.

"Ouch! You'll pay for that!" Buizel somehow got out

Sparkle just stared at him and then looked back at Mel.

"Just… Just use Spark again."

This time he didn't use Quick Attack but he was getting ready with a Water Gun. Before the attack got out, Sparkle had already sent a Spark heading straight at him.

"Wait! No!"

**_-ZAAPP-_**

He was down. Mel two, Barry zero.

_I guess I'll be up next…_

Barry, now stomping on the ground, reached furiously at his next ball. He released a Ponyta. Mel took out Sparkle and placed me in. Sparkle decided to stay out and cheer me on for this battle.

_Finally a battle I can really put my all into. I just hope I don't get burned again…_

"Pen! Use BubbleBeam!"

"Ponyta! Stomp!"

Before I could charge my attack, the Ponyta moved in on me and stomped my stomach so that I was flat on my back. I was too much in shock to make a move.

"One more time Pen!"

"Flamewheel!"

I began to charge again when Ponyta began to spout fire from every direction. Then he began to charge at me. Once it made contact, I was burned. I did my best and managed to hit back with a super-effective BubbleBeam.

"Pen, are you okay?! Do you need to switch out?"

_It's just a small burn! I can still take him out!_

I charged up another BubbleBeam while Ponyta hit me with a Stomp. Luckily, this time I didn't flinch so right when he was over me, I hit him with my attack. When Ponyta ran off to the other side of the field, I began to feel a sharp pain from that burn.

"Pen! One more turn then I'm switching you out, okay?!"

_I only need one more turn…_

For some strange reason, Barry had Ponyta use Tail Whip on me.

_I guess he has a plan. Oh well…_

I then hit Ponyta with one last BubbleBeam. He was down and all that was left was my good friend, Turtwig. Mel knew this too so she took me back in.

"That was great Pen! Is your burn alright though?" Sparkle began to ask while checking my stomach

"It's alright. Nothing a Burn Heal won't fix at least."

Just as I expected, Barry sent out my old friend. But this time he was different. He had evolved.

"What is that?" Sparkle asked while tilting her head

"That would be Turtwig's evolved form."

"Turtwig? That means he's a Grass-type, right? Is Mel going to use Stan again?"

"Oh no. She has someone new just for that one."

"Who?"

"You'll see."

* * *

**And that is where it will end. Forgive me if I don't update that much lately. College apps + AP classes = Depressed Mel.**

**;.;**

**I honestly don't feel like doing much lately but I blame that on the Senoiritus. Well, see you next chapter!**


	25. Tension Between Friends

**Mel here! I'll make the intro short because I'm in the middle of a battle!**

**I don't own Pokémon!**

* * *

"Grotle – The Grove Pokémon. It knows where pure water wells up. It carries fellow Pokémon there on its back."

After scanning, Mel returned her Pokédex to her bag. She then threw out a normal Pokéball and out came someone Sparkle didn't recognize.

"Who is that?!"

There on our side of the field stood a familiar looking Pokémon. He had a full cream body and four long legs, each one ending in a gray hoof. Out of the head and bottom came large, bright orange flames. It was a Ponyta.

Mel turned to us and said, "Meet our new friend Sparkle. His name is Braeburn."

Braeburn looked over at us as well and just snorted. Then he turned his attention back to the battle.

"Use Flame Wheel!"

"Razor Leaf!"

As Grotle let out multiple leaves, Braeburn charged forward in a burst of flame and burnt them up. When he made contact with Grotle, he yelped out in pain.

"Stomp!"

"Bite!"

Braeburn's Stomp hit first and caused Grotle to flinch. He then moved in one more time with a Flame Wheel. Grotle fainted.

"What?! No!"

As Barry stomped on the ground, Mel picked up 2700 Pokédollars that just happened to be on the floor. We then walked back to the Pokémon Center to get healed up.

* * *

"Another day, another route. Come on guys! I heard Soloceon Town is up next!"

"Is there a gym there?"

"No. But there are some new Pokémon on the way! I can just feel it."

Mel took a long look at all of us and then picked up a ball.

"I'm going to be sending one of you guys into the box."

_What?! The box?!_

We all had a shocked look. We didn't want to go into a box! Rarity began to freak out while Rainbow started to cry. Mel somehow managed to calm everyone down and then began to explain.

"Look, this isn't forever. You'll be back with me in a bit. I was talking with the nurse and she said it was common to keep your team in rotation. So, who wants to volunteer?"

We all looked around. No one stood forward for a while until Stan lifted his wing.

"Stan?!" Sparkle cried out. "Are you sure?"

"Don't worry! It should be like a little vacation, right? I'll be back soon so watch over things for me Pen."

"Don't worry about it Stan."

When saying goodbye, Rainbow began to cry again. Stan Picked her up in one wing and hugged her a bit.

"Don't cry squirt! When we meet again, promise to be a big girl, okay?"

Rainbow nodded and Stan placed her back down. He then waved goodbye with his normal arrogant grin as Mel placed him in his Pokéball. We left the center with only five in our party again.

* * *

"Wow! This route looks pretty big. Do you think we'll reach the next town by night fall Quinny?"

"If we rush then maybe."

Mel, carrying Rainbow, followed Quentin who in turn followed Roselia and I down the Route. Mel then began to eye the tall grass to our right and decided to explore a bit.

"I thought you said you wanted to get through the route quickly?!"

"That doesn't mean I didn't want to make any new friends!"

Mel came over and dragged me into the grass as well.

"Come on Pen! Keep on the lookout for something that looks different!"

I looked around until I was a small streak of green and white. I proceeded to follow it and Mel followed as well. When we finally cornered the mysterious Pokémon, Mel scanned it with her Pokédex.

"Ralts – The Feeling Pokémon. If its horns capture the warm feelings of people or Pokémon, its body warms up slightly."

"So that's a Ralts, huh? Wanna try and catch it?"

I agreed with the plan but instead of sending me out, she went and sent out Rainbow.

_Is she crazy?! Rainbow isn't even a Lv. 2 yet!_

A couple of seconds passed by and all Mel said was "Good work Rainbow! Okay Pen, you could go in now."

_What was that about? Oh well, whatever._

I entered the battle but right as I did, the Ralts used Confusion on me.

"Go easy on her Pen! I wanna catch her so use Bide!"

I began to concentrate and store energy as she hit me with another Confusion. The next round she used Lucky Chant. Right after this, I released the energy I've been building up. Luckily, she was only a couple of hit points from fainting. Mel took this chance to throw a Pokéball only this time, it wasn't normal. It was mainly pink and had stripes of yellow on it. Mel threw the ball and the Ralts was captured.

"Oh right… She would only get experience in a battle we win… Oops. Anyway, that was great Pen! Here, have a Poffin! I know it doesn't heal but consider it a job well done."

Mel handed me a bluish Poffin that one of the woman from the Pokémon Fan Club gave her. It was dry but very satisfying. After finishing it, I turned my attention to the ball Mel used. Before I could gesture toward it, Mel had picked it up to show it to Quentin.

"Quinny look! I caught a Ralts just now."

"That's great! Should we get it healed then?"

"No need!"

"What do you mean?"

"Look!"

Mel held out the Pokéball to show it to Quentin. He made a confused face at first but then it turned into a big smile.

_Am I the only one not in the know?_

"So you used a Heal Ball, huh?"

"Yup! I found some earlier and asked around about them in Hearthome. I figured that I should use it in order to save time."

"Good idea. Should we continue on?"

"Let's."

* * *

We continued down the route having battle after battle. I now understood why Mel would send Rainbow out first. She was training her. Normally, Togepi are born only knowing two moves: Growl and Charm. Mel wanted Rainbow to at least learn Metronome so she could defend herself. So whenever we ran into a trainer or a wild Pokémon, Rainbow was the first to go out.

"Wow Rainbow! We've only had about ten battles and you're already a Lv. 15! If we go any farther, you might evolve!"

"How do Togepi evolve anyway?"

"Well, according to Professor Rowan, Togepi evolve when they have a high level of friendship with the trainer. Just like how your Budew evolved actually."

"Huh. How about you check the level now with your Friendship Checker?"

"Good idea Quinny!"

Mel began to play with her Pokétch and got the Friendship Checker on screen. Suddenly, she let out a gasp.

"What's wrong?!"

"Nothing's wrong! If I'm seeing this correctly, then that means Rainbow will evolve with the next level up!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! But before that, I think we should get some food. I'm pretty hungry."

"Yeah, let's get everyone out to help then."

Mel and Quentin released the rest of our friends and we began to set up for a late lunch. The only strange thing was that Braeburn walked away and hung out near the small lake. I went over to ask if he wanted to play with the rest of us.

"Hey Braeburn! Wanna join us?"

He just glared back at me and looked away.

_"Reminds me of someone else I know…" _I thought as I looked over at Rarity._ "Well, how she used to be at least."_

"What's wrong?"

Braeburn stood up and stomped on the ground. He then turned to me and said "Look, I don't want to talk to you! Just go away, okay?"

"Dude what's your problem?! I was just inviting you to-"

"I don't want to!"

Before I knew it, we were fighting. But this wasn't a battle, we were just pounding away at each other. Soon after we began, the others came running over, trying to break us apart.

Sparkle first called out to us, "Pen?! Braeburn?! What's going on guys!?"

Sparkle tried to use Spark on us but she missed. Rainbow began to cry while Graveler and Machop tried to hold us back. It was utter chaos. Right then, I heard a voice call out.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

At that moment, Braeburn stopped hitting me with his hooves. We looked up to see a very angry trainer.

"I will repeat, what do you think you're doing?!"

I was too afraid to look Mel in the eyes. I knew she was angry. I just knew it.

"Rarity, take Pen over by Quinny to cool down. Sparkle, you go calm Braeburn down. Afterwards, bring them to me for a talk. Right now I need to tend to Rainbow."

Mel picked Rainbow up and began to sooth her crying. Rarity followed orders and brought me away from everyone. I looked back to see Sparkle walking with Braeburn. I don't know why, but I didn't want him near her.

"-en! Pen!"

"Huh? What?"

"What happened back there?" Rarity asked with a concerned tone

"I honestly don't know. I was just inviting him over to play and he just shouted at me. Before I knew it, we were fighting."

Rarity began to inspect me and then reached for my left flipper. When she grabbed it, I could feel my face heating up.

"You're bleeding."

"What?"

"I said you're bleeding. Look, you have a gash here! We need to tell Quentin."

Rarity ran over to Quentin and pulled him over to inspect my flipper. He then sprayed it with some Potion and wrapped it up. It stung a lot but it was effective. Then he returned to preparing lunch with Mel.

"Do you feel better now Pen?"

"Just a bit. How do you think Sparkle's doing with Braeburn?"

At Sparkle's name, Rarity made a sour face and just replied, "Just fine!"

Then she hopped away to help out Mel.

_Really strange…_

* * *

**_-Sparkle-_**

I did what Mel told me and somehow got Braeburn to follow me. I decided to take him near some trees so we could sit in the shade. When there, he wouldn't talk to me at all.

"Braeburn, what's wrong? Why did you guys fight back there?"

"It's none of your business!"

"If my friends are involved then it is!"

We stood there for a moment, just glaring at each other. He then sat down and just said "Who said we're friends?"

"I did! Look, I know you're a good guy Braeburn. Pen is great too. I don'tt want to see you guys fighting."

"Why do you care about Pen so much?"

I thought about my answer for a few seconds. Why do I care for him so much? I finally came up with a reason.

"Well, I guess you could say he's… very important to me."

"Huh, if I didn't know any better, I would say you liked him or something."

"What!? I told you! He's just an important friend! Besides, we're here to talk about you, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah. Look, I'm cool now! You can go now."

"I told you, I won't leave my friends behind. I'm staying here until you stop being Mr. Grumpy-pants."

I sat down next to Braeburn. He just turned his head and began muttering.

"Annoying…"

* * *

**So this time I wrote a pretty short chapter. I don't think I'm going to write anything longer than eight pages now.  
**

**So anyway, I'll try and make the next chapter better. As for why I shoved Stan in the box that was because I was planning on training my Togepi to become an awesome Togekiss. That way, she would be my main Flying-type. And yes, I used a Heal ball because I was too lazy to go back into Hearthome.**

**See you next chapter!**


	26. Resolutions and Revelations

**Hey hey hey!**

**:3**

**Let's get on with it then!**

**I don't own Pokémon!**

* * *

After talking with the others a bit, by that I mean those on Quentin's team, I went back over to Mel to get a talk. We waited a bit for Braeburn and Sparkle to return. Just thinking about it made my stomach lurch.

_What are they doing? What's taking them so long?_

Just then, Sparkle and Braeburn came back. Braeburn had an irritated face while Sparkle kept talking to him with a large smile.

"Okay, I take it you two calmed down a bit?"

I looked at Braeburn but he averted his eyes in an instant.

"Okay, look. I'm okay if you guys aren't the best of friends. I just want you two to be able to hang around each other without tearing at each other's throats, got it?"

I nodded instantly but Braeburn took a while. It's obvious he dislikes me but as for why, I have no idea.

_Maybe I should try asking Sparkle. She may know why._

Before I could get up and ask, we were pulled into lunch. It was pretty late in the day, around two or three in the afternoon, but we still took our time. Everyone was placed into their balls except Roselia, Rainbow and I. We continued to follow the route until we were stopped by two little girls. They said they wanted a double battle so of course we accepted.

"Go Bonsly!"

"Go Mime Jr.!"

"What are those Pokémon?"

"I don't know. Let me check."

Mel Pulled out her Pokédex and proceeded to scan them.

"The Bonsly is a Rock-type while the Mime Jr. is a Psychic-type."

"Okay then, so I guess I'll take on the Bonsly. Do you want the Mime Jr.?"

"Sure. Just don't mess up Quinny!"

Quentin sent out his Roselia while Mel sent out Rainbow. Rainbow might have been stronger now but the opponents were still four levels higher than her. I figured Mel would switch her out after the first few rounds.

"Roselia, Leech Seed!"

"Rainbow, Metronome!"

"Bonsly, use Rock Throw!"

"Use Encore Mime Jr.!"

Out of Roselia's arms came multiple seeds that instantly latched on to the Bonsly. After a few seconds, small vines began to sprout and crawl around the young Pokémon's body. As Rainbow moved her small arms to bring out her Metronome, Mime Jr. used Encore on her. It didn't really matter however.

Bonsly aimed its Rock throw at Rainbow but Roselia got in the way and protected her. Then Rainbow's Metronome came out as a large dark-looking blade. Rainbow charged forward and used Night Slash on Mime Jr. After Rainbow ran back to our side, Bonsly was sucked of its health and it went to Roselia.

"Metronome one more time Rainbow!"

"Roselia, use Magical Leaf!"

"Uh! Use Low Kick on that Togepi!"

"And you use Light Screen Mime Jr.!"

Roselia attacked first. He let out an array of beautiful, multi-colored leaves that all hit Bonsly. Luckily for Rainbow, she fainted right there. Then Mime Jr. put up a Light Screen on the other side. Rainbow, at this point, was all done calling a move through Metronome. Rainbow jumped up high and shattered the Light Screen with one hit. She used Brick Break.

"Great job Rainbow! Metronome!"

"Roselia, use Grass Whistle!"

"Mimic!"

Sadly, for Mime Jr., Quentin's Grass Whistle hit first. Mime Jr. fell asleep right away. This left its defenses wide open for Rainbow's attack. Rainbow held her small hands together and released a flurry of flower petals. The sleeping Mime Pokémon just got caught up in the blow. She got hit hard with Petal Dance and fainted instantly.

"What?! We lost?"

"That was amazing Rainbow!"

Before Mel could run forward and twirl around with Rainbow, she began to glow.

"Oh my gosh! Quinny! It's happening!"

Mel pulled out her Pokédex as Roselia and I closed in on Rainbow. Her shell disappeared and her body lost its creamy, yellow color. Instead, it turned bright white, like her past shell, and had the same blue and red markings as well. Rainbow grew a long neck and her head still had those distinguishing spikes at the top. The last new addition to her new body was a small pair of wings. Rainbow could now fly.

"Togetic – The Happiness Pokémon. To share its happiness, it flies around the world seeking kind-hearted people."

"Nice to meet you Togetic." Mel said, holding her arm out for Rainbow to land in

Rainbow happily accepted and perched on Mel's arm.

"Wow. Wait until Stan sees you. He might get jealous that we have another flyer though." Mel said, laughing at the thought

"So she's a Flying-type now?"

"Yup. Those wings aren't just for show! And guess what? I hear that she has one more form. I just need to figure out how to get her there…"

"I'm sure you'll get it. After all, you are pretty good with Pokémon."

"Thanks Quinny. Shall we continue?"

"Yes, we shall."

* * *

We continued to follow the route until we reached a slope that was only accessible through the use of a bike. Rainbow flew up ahead while Roselia and I sat with our trainers on their bikes. When we reached the top, we couldn't help notice the tall tower over to the right. But then again, it was almost night time and the town was just ahead.

_We could explore later…_

As we entered the town we instantly found the Pokémon Center. As we entered, we were left with the nurse to get healed as Mel and Quentin booked a room for tonight. After healing, we all gathered in the waiting area.

"Hello everyone!" Rainbow chirped

"Pen," Sparkle whispered, "is that Rainbow?"

"Yeah, she evolved just earlier!"

"Oh that's just wonderful!"

Rainbow, Rarity and Sparkle then formed a small circle as the guys, minus Braeburn, sat in a circle as well. We just discussed different topics ranging from battling to poffins and Pokémon Contests. Soon, Mel called us all to follow her and Quentin to the room.

"Come on guys! The faster we get there, the more we get to sleep."

As we entered the small room, everyone found a spot to sleep. Braeburn took one corner of the room, Rarity and Rainbow decided to stay with Mel on her bunk in the first bed, Roselia and Shellos stayed with Quentin on the top bunk, above Mel, while his Machoke and Graveler took the bottom bunk of the second bed. Sparkle hopped up to the top bunk of the second bed and I followed suit.

"Do you mind?"

"No, not at all. It is pretty cold tonight anyway."

I got up on the bunk as well. I looked around at the room around us. The only light in the room was the moon and the dim lights of Braeburn's now almost gone mane and tail. It was peaceful.

"Hey Pen."

"Mm, yeah?"

"What do- Never mind."

"What is it?"

"I said never mind! Just go to bed."

"Alright then, night Sparkle."

* * *

The next morning was the same as the one before. We all got up around six or so, Mel's Pokétch has a pretty loud alarm, and all left the room to get breakfast. We decided to eat at the center since the air outside was cold and frigid. That morning Mel and Quentin had doughnuts and hot chocolate while we had some poffins that the nurse made that morning. At about six thirty we decided to adventure around the town and maybe even explore that tower.

"That was some good breakfast!"

"You only ate one doughnut." Quentin said with an annoyed look on his face. "What if you get hungry later?"

"I don't know. Hey, I heard there was a day care or something like that here. Wanna go check it out?"

"Why not?"

All thirteen of us walked in a large group heading towards the north of town. As we walked up, I noticed that we were walking along a fence. I looked into the fence to see multiple Pokémon frolicking and playing with each other. It wasn't long until we reached a large building with the words "Pokémon Daycare" engraved on the sign out front. Mel and Quentin had everyone return, except Machoke and I, and we entered the building. As we did, the first thing that caught my eye was a large counter and an elderly woman sitting there.

"Why hello there! Welcome to the Pokémon Day Care. Would you like to leave a Pokémon with us today?"

"No, actually, I wanted to look around a bit." Mel said while gazing at the walls

"Why of course dearie! It's good to take a break every once in a while. Would you like to see our facilities?"

"Of course! Quinny, do you want to see too?"

"Uh, as great as it sounds I actually have to stock up. Let's meet up later, okay?"

"Okay then, come on Pen!"

We followed the woman behind the counter. Before we left for the back room, she yelled over at an elderly man.

"Hank! Watch the counter for me."

"Got it Hannah…"

"So dearie," Hannah said while now turning to Mel, "are you interested in Breeding?"

"Actually, yes, I am. I always wanted to be a Breeder but I got caught up in helping Professor Rowan with research. Right Pen?"

_Pokémon Breeding? What are they talking about?_

"So I take it you understand most of the basics behind Breeding, correct."

"Oh yes. One thing is that both Pokémon need to be in the same Egg group at least."

"Correct. Could you tell me what egg group your Prinplup is in?"

"Hmmm… He would be Water 1 and Field, right?"

"Correct again! You might make a fine Day Care Lady later in life."

Mel laughed a bit and replied, "I hope. If not, then I could just keep going with what I'm doing and become Champion."

"Champion?! You're going to enter the league?!"

"Well, I have only three badges so far so I might as well aim for the top, right?"

"So do you like battling or raising Pokémon better?"

"I guess both. You see, my mother told me that my father was a Pokémon Breeder. Anyway, I always wanted to be like my father so I would work hard every day to learn about Pokémon. Of course I didn't learn of all the Pokémon out there, I just learned the basics like identifying type and things like that."

"That's wonderful. May I see your other Pokémon?"

"Oh yes, of course!"

Mel reached for the rest of her ball and released everyone else. The Day Care Woman walked up and examined each and every one of us.

"Hmm…"

"Ye-yes ma'am?"

"Your Pokémon seem healthy and happy but I think you can make their coats shine even more."

"And how could I go about doing that?"

"Poffins of course!"

"I thought poffins were just treats?"

"Oh no! Here's what we'll do. You leave your Pokémon to play out here and I'll teach you how to make the best poffins you can make."

"Well I don-"

But before Mel could finish, she was pulled back inside by Hannah.

_It's gonna be a long day…_

I looked around and noticed that everyone went off on their own to explore. Rarity and Sapphire were off exploring a small tunnel as Braeburn wandered off to rest near a small pond. Sparkle went with Rainbow to play with the other Pokémon leaving me by myself.

_Oh well._

* * *

**Finally finished!**

**:D**

**I wanted to write more but I decided it was enough. Oh yeah, I just made up those names. I really didn't care.**

**-.-**


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